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The Graces + The Curses by Laure Eve (Ft. A Sequel I’ve Waited Soooo Long For!)

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If you pass me a book about deeply mysterious families, witches and woods, and corrupt magic — I will love you forever.

Like this is my favourite reading aesthetic. I am the one who can’t stop reading The Raven Cycle, who adores Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, who is sitting here waiting for my Matilda telekinesis powers to kick in. (So far, no luck tho.) So it was an absolutely freaking delight to be back in The Graces world.

I read The Graces in 2016 and was so in love. The sequel was supposed to come in 2017 but it…just…didn’t. I’m not actually sure what happened, but it is now the good year of Twenty Nineteen and The Curses is here.

I’m going to do a double review! But no spoilers! 🤭

Thank you to Allen & Unwin for the review-copies!

Goodreads | Book Depository | Publisher

It’s like falling in with an old friend when you reread a book you loved years ago! There’s that worry of “oh no will we still click??!” but…I totally adored The Graces still. It’s a book of oddness, a tangle of insecurities and the desperate craving of magic from a lonely girl who needs there to be more to this life. It was atmospheric to the core and I am here for that.

The writing really catches me too — it’s sensory and manages to be ethereal as well as forthright. I love the subtle weaving of magic through this book. Is magic true? Is it not? The writing makes you ache with wanting to know. Until the ending of course, which is like being slammed into the sea at full force. And rereading it had me caught up in such knots?! How did I SURVIVE the wait for the sequel so !! long !!

The Grace family are entrancing, problematic to the core, but yet you can’t look away. I’m with River here. They’re a secretive force, needing none but each other, so when they let that one person in…it means so much. Thalia, with her earthy soft goodness. Fenrin, the sarcastic flirt with wavering faith in his family. Summer, the goth and sharp and fully in love with her witch destiny. And River Page — the narrator who is hiding the darkest of secrets.

(My only qualm reading this one is uncertainty as to whether the book was queerbaiting or not? Summer causally calls River a girlfriend, even, at one stage, but there’s no romantic hints in River’s narration that she ever feels romantic towards Summer. She’s in love with Fenrin…which gives me pause when the straight girl is obsessed with the queer boy.)

Goodreads | Book Depository | Publisher

I went into this absolutely wrapped in anticipation. And it was like a welcome slide back into this witchy and deeply magical story, deliciously vibrant and so sensory that I could taste the mulberries and smell the herbs. The entire book is a feast of power…and of selfishness and insecurity and grief. And afjkdsladjf I just love that.

This time it’s narrated by Summer Grace. And I adore her! She’s easily one of the most epic of the trio of Grace siblings. I did, however, feel this was actually Fenrin’s story…he had all the plot. So I’m curious as to why Summer narrated.

Also am here for how much more sibling life we got. 🙌🏻 They’re still dealing with the trauma of the last book (SOB AREN’T WE ALL) and they’re just such a tight-knit group. They love each other fiercely, but they also know the best ways to hurt each other. Also there is fully a scene where the eat so much cake they can’t function. Quality content. I just love sibling-focused stories, particularly if the siblings are witches.

So did it live up to my 2-years of anxious anticipation? It did in all ways except for how it ended up handling the queerness. I wanted it to pull through and it didn’t and I genuinely felt queerbaited. But maybe I’m misinterpreting it?

SPOILERS DISCUSSED
It built up the relationship between Summer and River the WHOLE time. Especially in book one. And then at the end, Summer is all “oh we’re just sisters and I’m not in love with you” and River was basically relieved?!?!?? It fully killed off Wolf. Again. So the only canon queer couple broke up/buried the gays. Look — it’s just that it built so much up with Summer x River and then the “lol never mind” at the end feels like queerbaiting. It would’ve been so easy to offset Wolf’s death by having another canon queer couple. Why didn’t it? 😐 I’m kind of gutted.

The Curses was deeply magical and haunting, all witches and spells and dark threads running through the town. The writing was everything I wanted, and having more Grace sibling time was amazing! But I can’t ignore the queerbaited feel of the ending.

 

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚  ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚  ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

is there a sequel you had to wait a long time for? or one you’re *still* waiting for?? and tell me if you’ve tried this duology and what you thought!

 

 

Making Friends With Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu (Q&A + Giveaway Of This Softest Friendship Debut!)

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I am so so here to wave wildly at this cutest contemporary: Making Friends With Alice Dyson.

It’s also it’s release day so someone bring us cake and very small delightful party hats. The author is also a lovely blogger friend and I’m so excited to have her here for a Q&A! There’s also a giveaway at the end and trust me you’re going to want this book. I am all heart eyes over it!

 

other author Q&As on paper fury…

➸ Tomi Adeyemi
➸ E. Lockhart
➸ Derek Landy
➸ Sara Wolf

Alice Dyson knows exactly how she’ll be spending her final year of high school. With her head down, quietly concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She’s focused on the future, and nothing and no one is going to get in her way. Until a bizarre encounter with the school’s most notorious troublemaker derails all her plans, turning Alice into the unwilling centre of attention and her life into one enormous complication.

And even worse? Now Teddy Taualai won’t leave her alone.

A story about rumours, friendship, and discovering who you really are.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Wakefield Press | Booktopia

 

Meet the Author

Poppy Nwosu is an Australian YA author.
Growing up in central North Queensland, Poppy enjoyed a thoroughly wild childhood surrounded by rainforest and cane fields. After studying music at university, she moved overseas to Ireland, where she spent two years visiting everywhere she could.
These days Poppy still loves to travel, but she also likes to come home again to her house in Adelaide near the sea.
Poppy’s quite obsessed with stories, books, movies, writing and music.

find her on… Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Blog |

 

Hi Poppy! Thanks so much for stopping by Paper Fury so we can celebrate your debut novel! I’m super excited to interview you today, so let’s start off with…which did you find hardest to write in Alice’s book? The beginning, the middle, or the end?

Hello everybody! And thank you so much for having me on your blog, Cait, I am so excited to be here! 🙂

For me, I always seem to get caught in a difficult spot around the three quarter mark. In this story, there’s a scene where the protagonist, Alice, and her new friend Teddy are walking together through sparse industrial scenery towards a river, and that chapter just killed me. It is a very quiet little scene, more a moment of connection between two people than a plot heavy point in the story, but somehow I really got stuck and it was the absolute hardest to write!

The only other difficult part to write was difficult for entirely different reasons!

During the first draft stage I was actually using my phone so I could write during my commute to work. But one evening I wrote an entire chapter (a scene where Alice attends a house party for the first time) and it immediately deleted from my phone! It was horrifying, but there was nothing to do except sit right down and re-write it while the words were still fresh in my mind.

I still feel sad about that lost chapter!!

 

How long did it take Making Friends With Alice Dyson to go from seed idea to published novel? Can you tell us a bit about your journey?

 

It took me four years (pretty much exactly) from the time I first began writing this novel to now seeing it in print. I am not sure if that is a particularly long time for a journey to publication, but it certainly seemed excruciatingly long to me at the time.

It pretty much went like this:

  • Three months to write the first draft.
  • Followed by one year of rejections.
  • Another year on and off to learn how to edit my work while also doing re-writes, and writing other books.
  • Nine months of waiting for the outcome of an unpublished manuscript competition I submitted ALICE  into. (I was shortlisted and then offered a publication contract!)
  • A full year after signing the contract to see this book brought into the world!

So as all traditionally published authors know… the road from seed of an idea to published novel is a long one! With lots and lots of waiting!

But I can definitely say to any aspiring writers who may be reading this, the only thing that got me over the line in the end, was definitely my refusal to give up. So if you want it, don’t ever give up, no matter how long it takes!

Oh wow yes, agreed…publishing is a looong journey! Do you have any specific writing spaces or routines? Or can you write anywhere, anytime?

 

I really used to be able to write anywhere.

I was using my phone so I wrote on my commute to work, at my desk during my lunch break, or even while waiting at the grocery store.

But after a while that got harder. I don’t really know why, but I started to want designated time for writing, and couldn’t concentrate in snatched periods anymore.

A huge moment for me was when I finally set up a desk space in my living room. Prior to that I’d been too embarrassed to even tell anyone I was writing, so it did feel quite momentous to put my desk front and centre in my house.

These days I only write while sitting at my desk, and because I’m (unfortunately) still busy with a full-time job (I haven’t quite figured out how to make a living off my creative writing yet!) I get up at 5am to get in two hours of writing before work. I am definitely not a morning person at all (I HATE the morning!) but I realised because I wasn’t making the time to write, I was hardly getting anything done at all.

And for me that was too depressing not to change the structure of my life so I could spend more time doing what I love!

Your dedication is incredible! (And also sitting at a desk is a good idea…says me who blogs and writes on the floor usually haha…ahem.) We all have our heroes, so which authors inspire you the most?

I am sure everyone agrees, but this is just the hardest question ever. THERE. ARE. SO. MANY.

I guess I am particularly inspired by the careers (and books!) of Australian authors, Jay Kristoff, Ellie Marney and Helen Scheuerer. I admire them very much for the successful pathways they have each forged in their own very different ways, and I find that very inspiring.

I am also a huge fan of Vikki Wakefield’s beautiful writing, Alison Goodman’s historical detail, and Penni Russon’s lyrical prose.

And I am an absolute mad fan of Ryan Graudin and Brigid Kemmerer. I love them both so much!

And Rebecca Roanhorse as well, whose 2018 debut I just adored!

But to be honest, any author that owns what they do and is clearly passionate about their work is pretty inspiring to me!

Ahh we share some favourites! Now there are some amazing themes in your novel! Can you tell us a little about them and why they called to you?

 

Thank you so much for saying so! I really appreciate that!

Themes are a funny thing as a writer I think, and although in retrospect I see stuff in my novel about seeing past stereotypes, about knowing yourself, and about not listening to mob mentality, to be honest they weren’t exactly things I inserted on purpose.

The one theme I did try to get across was that I really wanted the book to be about friendship first and foremost, even though it is a love story at heart.  I am a big fan of romance, but it’s the smaller quieter moments between people that I find most romantic, and for me the best kind of love is built on a foundation of friendship. That was the theme I most wanted to explore in my story about Alice and Teddy.

Actually, talking about friendship and love, the idea of this story was initially sparked by this very cute viral video that I saw. You will see it really represents the kind of friendship I wanted to explore (and this video very obviously inspired the whole plot within my novel!).

I just love how silly these two teens are in front of each other, and I wanted to explore a friendship and ultimately a love story with two characters who could be themselves in front of the other, because that is what I find most romantic.

Omg that video!! SO CUTE. And the friendship themes in your novel are what caught my heart the most. 💛 And lastly! Was any chocolate harmed in the making of this novel?!

Ha! Don’t hate on me but I don’t actually have a sweet-tooth at all!

However, if a salt-tooth is a thing then that is what I am, because I absolutely destroyed about a billion bags of salty crisps while writing this book!!

 

Thanks so much for coming by, Poppy! It was a pleasure to get some behind-the-scenes info on your gorgeous novel.

(And, um, we’ll…try…to forgive you for not loving chocolate ahem.) 

 

And it goes without saying that I am in love with this amazing story!

Making Friends With Alice Dyson was so soft and adorable, the kind of contemporary that tugs at your heart. It captured what it is to be shy so well and w o w if this book isn’t relatable to those of us who work extra hard (especially in highschool) to cover up the fact that making friends is hard. Super hard. Alice is like an Australian-Hermione (or Amy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and I adored her instantly. She’s so torn between keeping to herself vs giving a kind word to anyone who needs it. THE PUREST CHILD.

And let’s talk about Teddy Taualai for a second…aka our mischievous, troublesome, softie. He will make and break your heart ok. His and Alice’s friendship started off from a totally unprecedented and spontaneous little “dance off” on the street. It took like a minute — and Alice (the serious-always-studying-quiet-workaolic) brushed it off. But it got caught on camera and went a little viral and now?? Teddy is insisting on being FRIENDS.

Look I love friendship stories. Especially ones between the shy squish and the flirt. Dude, Teddy is such a flirt. And both Teddy and Alice have complicated family problems and they’re drifting towards the end of highschool without quite knowing how they’re going to stand up on their own. They go from bickering to stealing soft glances at each other and — I AM HERE FOR THIS. There’s also an epic girl-friendship storyline for Alice and her childhood bestie…and it isn’t smooth, instead so realistic and I love how it was written.

The ending had my heart in my mouth though. (ALICEEEEEE!!) But it turned out into everything I wanted it to be.

This is the sweetest story of cautious offers of friendship, little acts of kindness, and vulnerable people opening up to those who love them. It has so much heart! Here for this kind of quality #LoveOzYA contemporary!

 

 

australian only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

tell me your favourite “soft and quiet” contemporaries? and were you the shy kid or the workaholic in highschool? is this one on your TBR?

Children of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi || Q&A Of Magical Secrets + Giveaway!

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I’m excited out of my mind today to be hosting a Q&A with the famous author of Children of Blood and Bone!

Am. just. STARSTRUCK RIGHT NOW. Tomi Adeyemi’s debut has basically devoured the world and the hype is real, peoples. I’m super pleased I had a chance to read an ARC and chat with the author.

We also have a review and giveaway at the end of this post!!

Feel free to flail awkwardly with me, because you better believe that’s what I’m doing.

Thanks to Pan  Macmillan Australia for organising the opportunity for this fabulous feature!

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

Goodreads  Publisher  Buy  Book Depository

Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and creative-writing coach based in San Diego, California. After graduating from Harvard University with an honours degree in English Literature, she studied West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil. When not writing novels or watching Scandal, Tomi teaches and blogs about creative writing at tomiadeyemi.com, named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer’s Digest.

Website   Twitter  Pinterest   Instagram

 

@PaperFury: Children of Blood and Bone has such amazing world building! What was your favourite setting to create and write?

 

@TomiAdeyemi: Definitely the dreamscape! This is a setting that’s actually been in my head for a while. It’s popped up in earlier stories, but it never quite worked until Children of Blood and Bone!

It holds some of my favourite scenes in the book!

 

@PaperFury: Ah I loved those scenes! I’m so glad they worked for this book! How did Children of Blood and Bone get its title? Did it go through many changes?

 

@TomiAdeyemi: “Children of Blood and Bone” is actually a phrase from one of my favourite novels and inspirations, Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older.

In a scene reminiscent of Hamlet, 3 spirits are talking to the protagonist and say something along the lines of “you children of blood and bone” and I instantly knew that was the title.  It was almost changed, but it ended up staying and I’m so happy that it did!

 

@PaperFury: I’m ridiculously happy it stayed too (it’s such a captivating title tbh). Can you tell us a little bit about your debut’s journey to getting published?

 

@TomiAdeyemi: It’s been a wild ride! I’ve been writing my whole life and working on books with the hope of getting published for 5 to 6 years. The first book I tried to get published took me 4 years, but didn’t go anywhere. However, I learned everything that I needed to learn about writing and publishing with that book, so it will actually always be the most valuable book I ever wrote for everything that it taught me!

With this book, the process was fast, but it was intense. The final product is almost 600 pages that were rewritten more times than I can count over an intense 18-month period, so it was a labor, but I am very proud of the final product.

 

@PaperFury: I love your attitude about the book that never got published…so so much truth there.  (Also much relate because my first book did the same! But we learn and go forward, yes?!) Do you have a specific writing space or do you write anywhere/anytime?

 

@TomiAdeyemi: With Children of Blood and Bone, I used to write a lot at my desk, but had to cut that out because it’s not the most effective when you have to also do things in the daytime.

Now I’m trying to write book 2 4-5 days a week and focus on putting book 1 into the world on one day a week. It doesn’t always end up so nice and neat, but having guidelines helps me stay balanced and efficient.

 

@PaperFury: Your level of organisation is inspiring haha. Now what’s the toughest vs most fun parts of the writing process for you?

 

@TomiAdeyemi: The most fun part is outlining. It’s pure inspiration and imagination without any of the hard work of getting it on the page.

The hardest part is revision. It’s the most rewarding part, but I’m the type of person who cares about every single word on the page and when you have 140,000 words in your book, it’s a process that can drive you insane!

 

@PaperFury: I couldn’t agree more about revising…so frustrating and satisfying at the same time. And lastly! Has any chocolate been harmed in the making of your novel?!

 

@TomiAdeyemi: Lol! Not chocolate, but jelly beans and popcorn and grapes and beef jerky! Also lots of pizza!

 

@PaperFury: I love it! Thanks so so much for coming, Tomi, and so excited to cheer you on as your amazing book releases this month and takes the world by storm!

 

Children of Blood And Bone is such a rich and excellently built fantasy world my opinion is just: WOW. I also feel like this book is most definitely mega-hyped but worth it, ohhh so worth it. The writing is stunning, but we just need to all sit down in a bucket and admire the world building. And the characters go from headstrong-little-stubborn-darlings-making-bad-decisions to headstrong-little-stubborn-darlings-making-bad-decisions-BUT-WITH-MAGIC-AND-EMOTIONS which is excellent development.

So the world building was definitely masterpiece here for me. I always get so disgruntled when fantasies presented half-baked worlds. NOT HERE. I also think it did a great job building the world as you go instead of info-dumps. Although there are a lot of characters (and I mean, like MORE THAN 3 which is intense omg hold me) so it took me a long time to get everyone straight. But this is coming from someone who also can’t remember their siblings names. So.

It actually has 3 POVs! We have Zélie, Amari, and Inan…and then are FABULOUS. Zélie is the headstrong magical child who was my absolute FAVOURITE for her character development, badassery, and raw emotion. Amari is the naive princess who ends up being super fierce. (Also she and Zélie fight a LOT because they’re enemies at the beginning…BUT THEN THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS SO POWERFUL AND EXCELLENT.) And Inan is the misguided prince who spends the whole book being an ass but then I felt bad for him. SO. INAN.

And the plot is all action and finding magical objects and running for your freaking life. As it should be in a fantasy. Basically these troubled threesome (along with Zélie’s brother Tzain) are trying to bring magic back but they’re also messy teens who make mistakes and I loved watching them grow!

  • epic female friendship that is actual goals
  • the ending was an absolute riot of a ride
  • mY heART GOT LOST WOW
  • character development is A+
  • lots of emphasis on glorious hair which is what I’m here for
  • no one is ever what they seem
  • slightly absolute dire need for the next book has hit me

OPEN TO AUSTRALIA ONLY.

Also, super fun, but there’s a hashtag called #NowWeRise celebrating Children of Blood and Bone and if you do something creative to go towards it, you can get a ton of extra points for the giveaway! The format of your post is up to you – initial ideas include a visual image, a video, an original story of your creation, or a personal story from your life that connects to the theme. Additional ideas include lists, fancasting, playlists, moodboards, or recipes. Let your imagination go wild!

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since COBAB is such a hyped book…tell me a super famous book where the hype paid off for you?! and are excited for this one?! tell me: if you had magic powers…what would they be?! (good luck to the aussies for the giveaway too)