Leopold Berry thought he had put and done away with childish things. His mom has passed away. He’s now living with an overbearing and self-important fLeopold Berry thought he had put and done away with childish things. His mom has passed away. He’s now living with an overbearing and self-important father who wants to map out every step of Leopold’s life. His friends are getting older and looking forward to their happier, brighter futures.
Leopold just spends every day in a daze, wondering if he’s losing his mind and if he’ll ever grow capable of standing up to his father. He just has this itch under his skin and in his hands telling him there’s something missing, or something is missing him, and he can’t go another minute without at least trying to figure out what’s humming inside of him.
From this point in Sunderworld, Vol. I, it’s an all-out roller coaster of urban fantasy, fantastic whimsy, a terrifically-constructed city layered over another city, great bits of Los Angeles lore, urban exploration, fun and imaginative world building, great pacing, teenagers acting like teenagers, explorations of grief, the beginnings of found family vibes, a fierce friendship, plenty of action, and a whole lot of fun secrets uncovered.
I wasn’t around for Riggs’ Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. Those came out while I was raising my kids, I think, and my kids weren’t readers (still aren’t). So I was only peripherally aware of Riggs as an author and his imaginative worldbuilding skills. This is why I wanted to read Sunderworld even though I knew it was going to skew toward a younger YA audience than I normally read. This book is labeled inside as being marketed towards those 14 and older, but I don’t believe in age-bracket marketing. I’m putting it here because someone reading this review might. I will say though that I think a kid as young as 10 or 12 could read this and be just fine.
I’m definitely sticking around for the next installment. This was a lot of fun to read and there are not enough books with whimsy in them, in my opinion. Give me all the whimsy.
I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Fantasy Series/First Book in a Fantasy Series/Urban Fantasy/YA Book Series/YA FantasyYA Fiction ...more
There’s slow burn, and then there’s just a book that never catches light.
The Monstrous Kind doesn’t lack for atmosphere or aesthetics, believe me. ItThere’s slow burn, and then there’s just a book that never catches light.
The Monstrous Kind doesn’t lack for atmosphere or aesthetics, believe me. It also doesn’t lack a sense of romance or chemistry between characters. The dialogue is actually the best part of the novel, which is nice when dialogue tends to be a problem in some other gothic fantasy novels.
None of these positives can make up for the host of negatives that this novel is composed of, however. From its slow, predictable, and writ beginning that failed to engage me, to the absolute cookie-cutter trope-ish characters, to the painfully apparent foreshadowing and false leads, and scenes that were obviously filler and could have easily been cut to help the dreadful pacing of the story, this book just never took off. I can honestly say I didn’t even become halfway interested in how the story might end until almost 60% of the way through, and by then I had already guessed how everything went together. I just wanted to see how they were going to assemble it all at the end.
Even there I was disappointed.
I can’t recommend this book. I just think it’s a lackluster example of gothic fantasy in a world where there are thousands of gothic fantasies that outshine it by far.
This isn’t a bad book. That’s not why I only rated it 3.5 stars. I rated it 3.5 stars because it’s simply a very average booReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
This isn’t a bad book. That’s not why I only rated it 3.5 stars. I rated it 3.5 stars because it’s simply a very average book. In a world of superb fantasy novels where the female protagonist is justifiably angry, this one not only doesn’t do a whole lot to set itself apart, it also really let me down in the end.
The story itself is pretty simple: this is Beauty and the Beast, filtered through Irish mythology/folklore, and gender-bent so the female is the beast (though she’s also very pretty, so, you know). None of these elements are a new thing, although Christy Healy has certainly done a very good job at studying Irish mythology as it pertains to the Tuatha de Danann and putting it to effective use in this book (although it should be noted that there are a million variations on every myth and story told in this book about the Tuatha de Danann, as there are about every mythological figure).
Our two main characters, Jamie and Rozlyn, have issues with a capital I: Daddy issues, mommy issues, familial guilt, trust, abandonment, and more. Combined, they have enough baggage to sink a ship. Jamie has a lot of secrets and Rozlyn hides everything she’s feeling. It’s love, but oof is it rough. Neither of them have had a good go of it, but I can’t help but side with Rozlyn when it comes to just about everything because the patriarchy has made her into a victim since birth.
The prose isn’t special, but it’s not bad. The imagery isn’t especially evocative, which stuns me because Ireland is so pretty I don’t know how you can’t wax eloquently about it. Healy does have an incredible gift for dialogue though, because the banter between Jamie and Rozlyn is absolutely delightful, even when it slips from banter into genuine ire. I did have some trouble with some anachronistic word usage, though.
I think that this might be better suited to someone younger than I am. Maybe a younger reader might be more receptive to the message. Maybe I don’t want them to be? Maybe I’m just a cynic. I just know I didn’t like the ending. The novel as a whole is an alright read.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Someone joked online somewhere that this book could be summarized with two words: “Florida Man”. I really don’t think they were too far off the mark, Someone joked online somewhere that this book could be summarized with two words: “Florida Man”. I really don’t think they were too far off the mark, because this book felt like a Florida Man meme in long fiction format.
I’d love to say I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t. It was too long, had poor pacing, and didn’t have a compelling story (in my opinion). I never connected with the story or felt engaged with it. It felt ridiculous but not in the way I felt was okay to make fun of; simultaneously it also felt too heavy to take seriously. It felt weighed down by its own perceived cleverness.
I respect that a lot of people loved this book, but I just couldn’t get on board with it.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Due to this review’s three star or lower rating it will not be appearing on my social media. Thank you.
(One thing I do give a TW/CW for is for on-page animal death, and that happens right in the beginning of the book; however, it is done as an act of se(One thing I do give a TW/CW for is for on-page animal death, and that happens right in the beginning of the book; however, it is done as an act of self-defense and the time period in which the book occurs should be taken into consideration. Any other on-page animal death takes place during a battle scene, which is par for the course in a novel about war).
I love Lauren Blackwood’s books. Her last book, Wildblood, was an absolutely standout novel that I felt a lot of people slept on for how brilliant it is. Wildblood was mainly about black pain and magic (according to Blackwood), but The Dangerous Ones lets Blackwood not only write about black pain but to also indulge in many of the romantic fantasy impulses she usually has to curb in her more serious and focused novels.
So, I guess what I’m saying is that The Dangerous Ones may not be as brilliant as Wildblood, but it’s a whole lot of fun and a smash of a read in a lot of ways.
The centerpiece of The Dangerous Ones are our two protagonists: Jerusalem (a runaway slave girl who was also born a Saint, which is somewhat akin to a demi-god), and Alexei (an Ancient Vampire who traveled specifically from Europe to America to fight on the side of the Union Army). They live in the same encampment, training together every day, and fight advance battles for the Union Army because their encampment is made up of other Saints like Jerusalem. They’re so deadly and prolific the newspapers have given all the Saints nicknames.
Jerusalem and Alexei are also fighting another battle: attraction and love of the star-crossed kind. Not only crossing ethnic lines, but also that of being Saint and Vampire. In the everyday moments and the heat of battle neither matter seems to bother either party, but in the small, silent moments the disparities between them seem to stretch like an ocean. Their chemistry on the page is absolute fire, and Blackwood has written them some of the best dialogue I’ve read in a romantasy in a long while.
The Dangerous Ones is violent, fiery, angry, romantic, magnetic, and even though there are pacing issues in the latter half of the book I really enjoyed it.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Blood Debts was a five star read for me in 2023. I was absolutely enthralled with the world building, the political intrigue, the diversity of the chaBlood Debts was a five star read for me in 2023. I was absolutely enthralled with the world building, the political intrigue, the diversity of the characters, and the commentary on social justice and cultural heritage.So I couldn’t wait to read Blood Justice; however, this sequel fell really short of every standard its predecessor set and it made me so sad.
The world building was mostly done in Blood Debts, but it’s nicely expanded on just the right amount in this book. We get a bit of a deeper dive into some of the supporting characters in the overall storyline too, which is always nice (and Benton-Walker manages to do this without taking away necessary page time from our trio of main characters, which is no mean feat).
Where I ran into some issues was with the political intrigue, which went from genuinely compelling in Blood Debts to feeling a bit closer to something out of a teen drama in this book, and with the pacing of this book. Act one of this book moves so slowly it’s hard to engage with this book at all at first. In act two, a lot of the scenes start to feel repetitive and the book starts to feel like it’s walking in circles. By the time you’re in the middle in the third act, you realize the book is out of surprises and the book has definitely gone on too long.
It’s not that I don’t love this series. I do. It’s a wonderful story that doesn’t pull punches and has a great deal of diversity. It has a lot to say and Benton-Walker has a great way of saying it. This sequel didn’t do the story, as a whole, any favors.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Because of the three star or lower rating this review will not be appearing on my social media.Thank you.
I should begin by saying I might be a bit biased because Ava Reid is one of my auto-buy authors. I love everything she has written so far, and I lovedI should begin by saying I might be a bit biased because Ava Reid is one of my auto-buy authors. I love everything she has written so far, and I loved A Study in Drowning, too, even if my love for it is more complicated than the love I feel for, say, Juniper & Thorn.
I’ve seen numerous reviews from people who’ve said this book gives them all the “fall feelings”. Well, then I feel sorry for what you think fall is, because this book made me feel incredibly sad, heavy, and emotional. I felt as weighed down as all of Hireath (the Myrrdin family home mentioned in the book’s blurb) feels in all its waterlogged sorrow. (Interestingly enough, I know the word Hireath from its Welsh origins, and while there is no direct English translation, to the Welsh, it’s a feelings that mixes longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness or an earnest desire for what–or how–something used to be).
Wales plays more than one part in this story, as Emrys Myrddin was the name of Merlin, King Arthur’s court magician, in the oldest known Welsh texts. Sadly, in those old texts, Merlin was just as atrocious a figure as Emrys is in this book, in the worst of ways. Also, notably, A woman named Angharad James was quite a notable poet in Wales from the mid 17th to mid 18th century. Both her son and husband died before her, and she wrote a beautiful elegy for her son. The manuscript survived and you can find it online.
I think my complicated feelings with this book begin with how much I identify with Effy, our female protagonist. It’s in her struggles to be taken seriously in academia, her mental illness issues, and her trauma. (BTW, here is a good place to suggest that you look up a list of TW/CWs before you read this book, if you’re the type of person who wants to know what they’re getting into before they start a darker book). For Effy, books have been her only friends and her only escape for her whole life, and I feel that sentiment in my bones. Books never leave like people do. Books never die. Books never physically harm you. Books are reliable, a portal out of here. And Effy, well, Effy has needed something to rely on her whole life because she’s had no one else to rely on. The only problem is she ended up relying on a single book to hold onto everything for her.
This book has a lot to say about misogyny, r@pe culture, victim blaming, grooming, the theft of women’s intellectual property for the sake of putting a man’s name on the work, prejudice against women in academia, philosophies behind what you believe and what you know, unwanted children, folklore, mythology, the younger generation changing the power structures, and more.
But what I find I enjoy more than anything when I read an Ava Reid book is the writing itself. The prose. The atmosphere. The imagery. The sentence structure. The way you can almost smell the sea, feel the ocean spray, shiver in the cold, smell the damp, feel the wood flooring bow beneath your feet, see the termite holes in the baseboards. Her books are immersive and evocative. You can feel the heavy doors and freezing water. You can see the trees flying through the air and the curving roads. And this is why I can’t help but love Ava Reid: her writing, just pure and undiluted, is magical all on its own.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/College Romance/Dark Academia/Dark Fantasy/Disability Rep/Romantasy/Gothic/Standalone Novel/Spice Level 1/Women’s Fiction/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance
Merged review:
I should begin by saying I might be a bit biased because Ava Reid is one of my auto-buy authors. I love everything she has written so far, and I loved A Study in Drowning, too, even if my love for it is more complicated than the love I feel for, say, Juniper & Thorn.
I’ve seen numerous reviews from people who’ve said this book gives them all the “fall feelings”. Well, then I feel sorry for what you think fall is, because this book made me feel incredibly sad, heavy, and emotional. I felt as weighed down as all of Hireath (the Myrrdin family home mentioned in the book’s blurb) feels in all its waterlogged sorrow. (Interestingly enough, I know the word Hireath from its Welsh origins, and while there is no direct English translation, to the Welsh, it’s a feelings that mixes longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness or an earnest desire for what–or how–something used to be).
Wales plays more than one part in this story, as Emrys Myrddin was the name of Merlin, King Arthur’s court magician, in the oldest known Welsh texts. Sadly, in those old texts, Merlin was just as atrocious a figure as Emrys is in this book, in the worst of ways. Also, notably, A woman named Angharad James was quite a notable poet in Wales from the mid 17th to mid 18th century. Both her son and husband died before her, and she wrote a beautiful elegy for her son. The manuscript survived and you can find it online.
I think my complicated feelings with this book begin with how much I identify with Effy, our female protagonist. It’s in her struggles to be taken seriously in academia, her mental illness issues, and her trauma. (BTW, here is a good place to suggest that you look up a list of TW/CWs before you read this book, if you’re the type of person who wants to know what they’re getting into before they start a darker book). For Effy, books have been her only friends and her only escape for her whole life, and I feel that sentiment in my bones. Books never leave like people do. Books never die. Books never physically harm you. Books are reliable, a portal out of here. And Effy, well, Effy has needed something to rely on her whole life because she’s had no one else to rely on. The only problem is she ended up relying on a single book to hold onto everything for her.
This book has a lot to say about misogyny, r@pe culture, victim blaming, grooming, the theft of women’s intellectual property for the sake of putting a man’s name on the work, prejudice against women in academia, philosophies behind what you believe and what you know, unwanted children, folklore, mythology, the younger generation changing the power structures, and more.
But what I find I enjoy more than anything when I read an Ava Reid book is the writing itself. The prose. The atmosphere. The imagery. The sentence structure. The way you can almost smell the sea, feel the ocean spray, shiver in the cold, smell the damp, feel the wood flooring bow beneath your feet, see the termite holes in the baseboards. Her books are immersive and evocative. You can feel the heavy doors and freezing water. You can see the trees flying through the air and the curving roads. And this is why I can’t help but love Ava Reid: her writing, just pure and undiluted, is magical all on its own.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/College Romance/Dark Academia/Dark Fantasy/Disability Rep/Romantasy/Gothic/Standalone Novel/Spice Level 1/Women’s Fiction/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance...more
Part Six of Crows, part Oliver Twist, part gaslamp fantasy, part vampire fiction, a tiny touch of Camelot, and a hefty dollop of “British colonialism Part Six of Crows, part Oliver Twist, part gaslamp fantasy, part vampire fiction, a tiny touch of Camelot, and a hefty dollop of “British colonialism sucked for everyone not British” (except with fictional country names), this novel was absolutely amazing. As complex, deep, and beautiful as any lovely tea blend described in the book, I was swept away from the first page and loathed coming for air at all until I was finished.
Arthie plays the role of the Artful Dodger of a teahouse named Spindrift: they serve lovely tea blends by day and let beds by night. What Arthie and Spindrift collect best is secrets. Secrets let Arthie and her best friend, Jin, buy a whole lot that actual money can’t. Secrets aren’t going to keep Spindrift safe when the crown comes for the building, though, and a member of the guard with a secret agenda comes to Arthie with an offer she can’t refuse because with one heist she can save Spindrift and blackmail the crown.
I loved everything about this book, and I do mean everything. Hafsal Faizal is a wonderful storyteller who weaves real history with alternative history, spinning fantasy with the paranormal, and does it all with a breathtaking writing style most authors could only hope to imitate. Her prose is elegant without being precocious and philosophical without being pedantic. The world building is thorough and the imagery is glittering.
The characters are delightful, diverse, and multi-faceted. There’s cunning and pensive Arthie, elegant and gregarious Jin, naive and lonely Flick, rakish and manipulative Matteo, even the enigmatic and beguiling Laithe. A crew of misfits, led by Arthie, to a thunderclap end. It’s a cliffhanger, of sorts, and I can’t wait to read the next one.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Vampire Fiction/YA Fantasy ...more
Disciples of Chaos is the fast-paced second book in M. K. Lobb’s Seven Faceless Saints duology. I read Seven Faceless Saints in December 2023 and likeDisciples of Chaos is the fast-paced second book in M. K. Lobb’s Seven Faceless Saints duology. I read Seven Faceless Saints in December 2023 and liked it so much I immediately preordered this title even though I had the eARC. I just knew it was going to be good and I was going to want to own it. Lobb created a world here where blind faith and the worship of the divine are the root of evil. Religion is a tool of the system and it only benefits the privileged. While not a new idea in fantasy, it’s something uncommon enough that an atheist like me takes special notice when books like these pop up.
Disciples of Chaos picks up almost right where Seven Faceless Saints left off, which I felt was a good narrative and artistic choice for Lobb to make for both the story and the readers. The consistency of the story arc from book to book is so smooth it almost feels as if Lobb wrote this duology as one huge tome and then had help editing it into two smaller tomes and the only thing that truly mattered was finding the exact right place to divide the two. As a result, Disciples of Chaos is more plot-heavy than Seven Faceless Saints, which was more heavy on world building and characterizations.
Disciples of Chaos runs at a fast clip, with a lot of action, plot development, relationship developments between Roz and Damian, a ton of inner angst for Damian, and a good amount of political intrigue (which I’m such a sucker for).
While I liked the first half of this duology more, I can honestly say this entire story is entirely worth the hype.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy ...more
I will admit one thing first: I was totally overtaken by Shiny Cover Syndrome when I went to request this book. I did like the sound of the blurb, butI will admit one thing first: I was totally overtaken by Shiny Cover Syndrome when I went to request this book. I did like the sound of the blurb, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the pretty cover. So, truth be told, had I known this was the first book in a series, I wouldn’t have requested it because the last thing I need right now is to get invested in another series.
But! I can tell you that I actually ended up really liking this book, even though if it weren’t for the cover I probably wouldn’t have given it a try right now.
This Dark Descent isn’t the best fantasy novel out there right now. It isn’t even the best fantasy novel with Jewish folklore woven into it out there right now. However, it is a really entertaining and well-written book. The plot is fairly straightforward, which you’ll be thankful for, because there’s so many other things going on in this book that the last thing you need is a really complicated plot.
Josephson made this book very character-driven, which is where I suspect the comparison with Six of Crows comes from. The book is told from two POVs: that of horse racer Mikira and that of unlicensed enchanter Arielle. To round out a set of core four characters we add in Damien, a member of a noble house, and Reid, his best friend. These characters are very richly drawn, all with complete background stories, different motivations, different goals, and all kinds of problems. And don’t forget the trauma. There’s definitely trauma. Combine our core four with a great supporting cast made up of characters of all shades of gray and the tapestry of the book also begins to feel a little like All of Us Villains, too.
Now, where this book falls short, in my opinion, is in worldbuilding. It just isn’t weak in explaining the actual world around Mirkira and Arielle, it’s also a problem in explaining the magic system. Josephson leaned just a little too much on the Jewish folklore when the majority of magic practiced in the world the book is set in doesn’t practice magic that stems directly from Jewish folklore (please note that I say “folklore” because in this book the author uses what we would know as Jewish terms but the people who would be considered “Jewish” in this book are called “Kinnish”).
Surprisingly, I found that the horse races in this book were weak points in the story as well. They weren’t as well-written as they could’ve been, with rather weak fighting choreography to them. I had looked forward to these scenes but they ended up being rather secondary to everything else going on in this book.
As an endnote: If you are triggered by animal violence, you may want to take care while reading this book.
Altogether, it’s a really solid read, and if you’re in the mood to start a new YA book series that’s on the darker side, then I recommend it.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, ideas, and views expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Romantasy/Supernatural Fantasy/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance ...more
Wyatt, James, and Peter were unwillingly brought together by circumstance, stuck together by proximity, but grew together liReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
Wyatt, James, and Peter were unwillingly brought together by circumstance, stuck together by proximity, but grew together like a trio of birch trees sticking close together for the sake of survival. In a single night the three of them were rather violently ripped apart from one another and it’s five years before any of them sets eyes on the other, and when that happens it’s clear their childhood was built on darkness and lies.
This book is definitely horromance (horror romance) for the YA set. Full of cosmic consequences, eldritch horrors, cryptid monsters, dark cottagecore vibes, a cult full of (of course) old white men, and themes stinking of very poor parenting, this book leans heavily on the ick and the creep instead of the outright violence to convey horror and sticks to dialogue, inner narrative, and clothes-on action to convey sexual attraction. The romance comes from the entire story, including flashbacks to prior events in the characters’ lives.
I truly enjoyed the concept of this story and was really engaged for the first two acts. I was totally into it, 100%. When the third act came, though, I felt the novel started to come apart and never really came back from that. The whole last 30% of the book was rather messy. It almost felt like Andrew knew what the first 60% of the book was definitely going to look like but then either floundered to find a finish they liked or maybe had a different finish in mind at first and decided to change it but it never truly meshed well. Either way, I wasn’t satisfied at the end.
I still recommend it because that first 60% is a compelling and interesting story and you may love that last 30% in a way I couldn’t. This book deserves an audience.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Witches versus witch hunters. Some rivalries never grow old for me, and this is one of them. When people speak of enemies to lovers, this is what comeWitches versus witch hunters. Some rivalries never grow old for me, and this is one of them. When people speak of enemies to lovers, this is what comes up in my mind. This is the type of rivalry that makes the enemies to lovers trope absolutely shine with brilliance.
It also generally just makes for great stories.
Heartless Hunter isn’t lacking in a great story, even if it isn’t breaking too much new ground. Heck, this book even has a nominal (keep that word in your mind) love triangle and I wasn’t hating it too much (and I hate love triangles).
I read Ciccarelli’s Edgewood when it came out and was heavily impressed with her world building and magic system. It’s the same here: Ciccarelli has a great creative talent and it makes her world building glimmer from the costuming to the very ground on which the characters stand, yet she isn’t tempted to let all that sumptuous world building leak through her prose, for which I’m very grateful. We get what we need in the important moments, when the costumes and imagery are important, but our author knows when these details need to take a backseat. The magic system is clever too, with the unique witch marks, the kind of blood spilled for each spell, and the fact each witch leaves behind a unique cast mark when the spell is done.
The book could’ve been an absolute delight if I had liked either one of the main characters. I didn’t feel like we really knew the whole measure of either of them. I didn’t feel connected to them. I didn’t like how either of them went about what they were doing and I really didn’t like Gideon near the end. I can’t agree with a lot of choices either of them made. It’s a little hard to fully enjoy a novel when you don’t connect with it fully.
I bet I’ll end up reading the next book because I need to know how this ends, but I don’t know if I’m going to need to own this series. I do recommend the read though, because it’s pretty good.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy ...more
If you’re looking for a literary epiphany you won’t find it in this book, but you will still find a very solid first entry into a fantasy series with If you’re looking for a literary epiphany you won’t find it in this book, but you will still find a very solid first entry into a fantasy series with great world building and atmosphere.
To Kill a Shadow is the first book in (from what I can find) author Katherine Quinn’s Mistlands series, which reminds me of such series as Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer and a touch of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. The blurb makes this book seem a lot darker than it actually is with all of its horror references, since the allusions to both The Mist and The Evil Dead are both mostly glancing askance instead of embracing the horror wholly.
I found this book a touch confusing at first because I thought it might be an age-gap romantasy and I just missed the memo, but it’s not. (Though that would’ve been a cool surprise had it not taken the book entirely out of the YA genre). I did love our two MCs, Jude and Kiara. They have a natural chemistry on page, with terrific dialogue that snaps and crackles with emotion. While their relationship evolves rather fast compared to other romantasy series of the same genre, I didn’t mind it because I’m not a lover of slow-burn. This series makes a huge point of Kiara being a woman who knows her own mind and that both she and Jude know how fleeting life can be in their world, so maybe it’s not too hard to imagine when someone reaches a hand out you take it.
The plot? Well, it’s rather transparent. That’s the thin point here. The plot is rather derivative of several other YA romantasy series and is very predictable (at least it is to me). The saving grace to this book is the comfort feel of a solid fantasy read, the characters, the dialogue, and the world building.
A good first entry into a new series, so I recommend reading this if you’re looking to get into a new series.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy Series/LGBTQ Fiction/Supernatural Fantasy/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy...more
The Bad Ones took too long to rev its engine and never really recovered, in my opinion. It felt like instead of three acts, it had just two very long The Bad Ones took too long to rev its engine and never really recovered, in my opinion. It felt like instead of three acts, it had just two very long acts: the very slow one where almost nothing happens and I felt like I should just DNF the book and the moderately paced one where action picks up but it still wasn’t compelling enough for me to call this a great novel.
The sad thing is Melissa Albert’s writing is stunning. She has great style. Her prose is full of fantastic word choices and lovely sentence structure. The passages in this book covering Nora’s (the protagonist) inner narrative were some of the only redeeming parts of this book because of how stunning and imaginative the writing was. Where it all fell apart for me was in the pacing and plotting of the story. It’s not that the story wasn’t interesting–it simply wasn’t interesting as presented in this book. It had all of my favorite hallmarks of a great YA supernatural horror-fantasy but with none of the panache.
So I’m giving it three stars for a very mixed review with very mixed feelings.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review has received a rating of three stars or lower so it will not be posted on my social media sites.
This book is in no way your next great fall read, because it’s simply too full of blooming life and arid heat to be a fall book, but I’ll tell you whaThis book is in no way your next great fall read, because it’s simply too full of blooming life and arid heat to be a fall book, but I’ll tell you what–I promise you it’s a fantastic YA romantasy. I absolutely adored every page of this epic historical fantasy that takes place in India during the 16th century (when the Portuguese came to colonize India).
Magical flowers grow on the Rann of India, which is located in West India just south of the border of Pakistan. In real life the Rann is full of salt flats during the arid part of the year and that salt is mined by nomadic tribes moving through the area. During monsoon season most of the area fills up with water and some of it becomes swamp. The nomadic tribes remain at their ancestral home during the monsoon season and then move back out when monsoon season passes so their livestock can graze. In Flower and Thorn, our protagonist, Irinyah, belongs to a tribe that not only deals in livestock but also in the hunting and selling of the Rann’s magical flowers. Each flower has a different power to it, along with a scarcity level. As it goes with all magic, they each also have a price. It’s too bad most people looking for easy fixes and power don’t really care about what it’s going to cost them.
Irinya is a rare female flower hunter. It’s usually a job reserved for males (like most jobs outside the home), but her mother was a flower hunter and ever since her mother disappeared when she was a child Irinyah has taken up her mantle. She inoculates herself against the poison in the thorns by pricking herself a little bit repetitively, like one would build tolerance against venom. She also shapes the poisonous flower thorns into little darts for the blow pipe that once belonged to her mother.
This whole book is about broken promises, broken families, pride, the importance of home, oppression, misogyny, and colonization. These themes are all things I love reading about and will almost always love reading about. There’s also a little bit about conservation and sustainability, but that theme isn’t explored as fully as the others (likely because it would’ve taken the plot off onto a tangent that couldn’t have been threaded back in smoothly).
The book has some points to make about war and women leaders and whether or not they’re fit to rule or be taken seriously as a ruler. While I appreciate a great feminist narrative, this book does take this book to some extremes with men and women: the women in this book all seem to lack genuine duplicity or violence and the men in power are all portrayed as lecherous and violent in nature. I don’t buy this as an entirely realistic portrayal, but seeing as this is a tried-and-true YA romantasy that has a serious point to make I think it’s probably for the best the waters here didn’t get very muddied with grey morality. It’s pure escapism here, us getting whisked away to the Indian subcontinent to a time when war is on the doorstep and it’s an opportunity for the colonization of India to be stopped. I think it’s okay to just let it be that.
It’s a lovely fantasy read with a cool magic system and great world building. The romantic dynamic is complicated and sweet. I highly recommend it.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
This book was amazingly diverse in so many ways: Native American representation, socioeconomic representation, ethnic representation, mental health reThis book was amazingly diverse in so many ways: Native American representation, socioeconomic representation, ethnic representation, mental health representation (I’ll get back to that), and so much LGBTQIA+ representation I was absolutely giddy for the queerness of it all.
I only have one huge gripe with this book: Did it have to be so predictable? That’s what lost this book a star. Well, that and the fact that I didn’t love the book enough to need it on my own bookshelves.
Don’t get me wrong: I truly enjoyed the book. I was hooked on it from the beginning and engaged from start to finish (in spite of the predictability). The story is compelling, especially with the added diversity and representation angles that aren’t simply thrown in for the sake of marketing appeal. Edgmon is definitely using fantasy’s ability to comment on sociopolitical and sociocultural issues to full potential with this book and I was living for all of it.
I can’t tell anyone reading this or the author in the length of a book review how much the mental health representation in this book meant to me. I may be cisgender, but Gem’s mental health struggles in some ways feel so much like the ones I’ve dealt with my whole life as a bipolar and having BPD. That feeling of needing to do whatever I can to keep people’s love, attention, and to keep myself safe. That feeling of sometimes not knowing if you’re real (I call it “my meat suit doesn’t feel right”), saying things you don’t mean, acting out even though you don’t even want to and then having to face the aftermath of your destruction once the episode passes? Yeah. I’ve been there. When I was a teenager I would’ve given anything for a book like this to identify with. I’m glad teenagers today have books like these to identify with.
So even though this may not be something I want to live on my bookshelves, I highly recommend it to all of you. Please, go read it. It’s everything diverse and important fantasy needs.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Coming of Age/Disability Rep/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/OwnVoices/Psychological Fiction/Supernatural Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy ...more
I was utterly stunned by Romero’s debut novel last year, The Ghosts of Rose Hill. At the time, I knew the novel would be told in verse but it had beenI was utterly stunned by Romero’s debut novel last year, The Ghosts of Rose Hill. At the time, I knew the novel would be told in verse but it had been so long since I had read a novel in verse it took me until I was about 10% of the way through the novel to really settle in and meld with Romero’s style and to be swept away with her story of the marriage of music and words and falling in love.
So this time I was prepared going in to A Warning About Swans for that lyrical, flowing verse Romero writes, this time spinning a fairy tale of a swan maiden who longs to know what it’s like to be free and human, only to discover that to be human girl in mid-19th century Bavaria is just another cage and now her powers are being held hostage by a man.
This story is most definitely a fairy tale, but it borrows ingredients from and then remixes from other mythological, folkloric, and fairy tale sources: The Swan Maidens are birthed by Odin just after he is resurrected, the pure white swan maiden being seduced away from the flock by a aristocratic boy is borrowed from Swan Lake, and bits and bobs of influence from The Last Unicorn can be felt throughout the book during Hilde’s (our swan maiden) journeys.
There is so much grief, regret, guilt, sadness, pain, and general melancholy in this book. Yet, I think that’s the point, and the book wouldn’t be the same without it.
During Hilde’s bound journey, she meets a non-binary painter named Franz Mendelsohn, who is Jewish. Both Franz and Hilde have left their homes and don’t think they can return. Both have secrets and have to hide their talents from the world. Both feel lost and without direction. Both feel used and taken advantage of and only find comfort in the companionship of one another. Romero never once makes Franz’ sexual identity an issue or a plot point except to let Franz explain how it makes them feel. For the story’s purpose, being Jewish in Bavaria is more dangerous than being non-binary.
The most lovely parts of this book are not found in the dialogue, but in the narration of the scenes without dialogue. That’s when Romero’s verse truly takes flight, spinning metaphors, similes, dizzying visions and beautiful turns of phrase. I wish I could quote them for you, but seeing as this is coming from a review copy, I can’t.
Romero can make time move as she wishes with her words. She can slow it down with Franz and Hilde lazily hanging out in a castle while Franz is painting and Hilde is daydreaming. She can speed it up with the simple sound of the stamping of boots down a marble corridor. Her timing is impeccable and she knows just when to tighten the knots and when to loosen them.
Romero is a genius in the making. I can’t wait for the next one.
I was provided a copy of the title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Fairy Tale/Romantasy/Historical Fantasy/LGBTQ Romance/OwnVoices/Paranormal Romance/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance ...more
I wanted to like this book. I really did. I just couldn’t get out of my head enough that this used to be a Reylo fanfic to enjoy it. It was still too I wanted to like this book. I really did. I just couldn’t get out of my head enough that this used to be a Reylo fanfic to enjoy it. It was still too close to its fanfic origins for me to sink in and enjoy the book as it is now in a transmuted format to take me away from Star Wars and into The Hurricane Wars.
It didn’t help that the writing is underdeveloped. This isn’t necessarily author Thea Guanzon’s fault: I believe it’s the publisher and editor’s faults for allowing this book to go to publication without endeavoring to help the writer hone her talents. This is what happens when a fanfic is transmuted for publication in a rushed matter without taking into account that the author’s writing style may not be ready for mass publication.
I know my opinion isn’t going to be a popular one. This book seems to be a blockbuster even before release. It’s going to be in all the major book boxes and will have all kinds of special editions. I just won’t be one of the people who will extoll its virtues.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. ...more
While this isn’t a direct Greek myth retelling, it is a Greek myth-inspired dark romantasy and I had a lot of fun reading it. I didn’t even know that While this isn’t a direct Greek myth retelling, it is a Greek myth-inspired dark romantasy and I had a lot of fun reading it. I didn’t even know that it was inspired by Greek mythology going in but I was absolutely giddy when I found out because I’ve loved Greek mythology since I was a kid.
The Night Hunt carries an enemies to lovers vibe but it’s the sort of enemies to lovers that speaks of a natural enemies vibe: Atia is a monster and Silas is a Herald. Silas is one of those they would send after monsters like Atia if she breaks the rules. Silas is there the night she does and they forge an unlikely alliance: He’ll help her break her curse if she helps him recover his memories. They hope it’s going to be as easy as hip, hop, hooray, but since when is it ever?
I can’t really put into words why I loved this book so much except that it was a lot of fun and it felt like the best kind of dark romantasy hug. Does that make sense? I think to anyone who is a big fan of dark romantasy it might be. I don’t always rate my books based on a list of checkmarks and wax eloquent about everything from narrative prose to the quality of the sentence formations. I can only tell you I had a really bad day today and this made me feel better when I was reading it. I would read it again in a heartbeat.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
And Break the Pretty Kings, the first first book in the Sacred Bone series by debut author Lena Jeong, was a book I was really looking forward to thatAnd Break the Pretty Kings, the first first book in the Sacred Bone series by debut author Lena Jeong, was a book I was really looking forward to that unfortunately fell well short of the target. Sadly, not every new YA fantasy series can please everyone straight out of the gate.
The market for folklore and mythological retellings from cultures and nations that aren’t European has been going through a golden age for about three years now, with no signs of stopping. Due to the large amount of interest coming from America in Asian cultures, that’s where the most adaptations, retellings, and remixings are coming from. So, in order to shine bright in the YA Fantasy Asian Folklore Retelling Book Series market, you need to make sure your book stands out from the crowd in some way and that the writing is polished until it gleams.
Sadly, neither one of those things is true about And Break the Pretty Kings. The book is poorly paced: the beginning is messy and confusing, and up until almost the 50% point of the book the whole thing feels like a bunch of what a lot of people call, “Hurry up and wait”. This stutter-start-stutter-start feeling has all the hallmarks of poor story mapping, down to including the dreaded exposition dumps. After the 50% mark all you have is bad writing, scenery, and a poorly thought-out climax and rush to a cliffhanger ending that reminded me of a great many episodes of Dragonball Z.
It would’ve helped if I’d liked any of the characters or if any of them had stayed consistent. Mirae, our protagonist, is naive and obviously has a case of selective hearing for the sake of the plot. She’s also clever when the plot calls for it but ignorant when the plot calls for it too. She’s utterly clueless, but everyone treats her as if she’s totally fierce. I didn’t understand anyone in this book. No one.
This book could’ve been made a great many pages shorter if less time had been spent waxing eloquent about every shiny thing in every room or table Mirae came across. This isn’t necessary, people. This is called purple prose. This level of description and how many pages it takes up doesn’t have anything to do with the plot. If you need to fill pages gushing about fabric or pottery in the middle of what is supposed to be an urgent quest, then you’re doing something wrong.
Everyone else seems to really like this book, and I don’t know why, but I’m not going to yuck their yum. This book just wasn’t for me and I won’t continue the series. If you did enjoy it, many well wishes to you and to Ms. Jeong as you continue the adventure.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas are mine and mine alone. Personal policy dictates that since this title received a rating of three stars or lower from me as a reviewer that it will not appear on any social media or bookseller website.
File Under: Coming of Age/Folklore Retelling/Historical Fantasy/Just Not For Me/LGBTQ Friendly/YA Book Series/YA Fantasy/YA Fiction ...more
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