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Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater (Did I Like My Most Highly Anticipated Book Of 2019?!?)

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To no one’s surprise, Call Down the Hawk is THE book I’ve been waiting for all year.

*grasps fruitlessly for words to describe this phenomenal book*

Look, I’ll tell it to you plainly: I am obsessed with The Raven Cycle and, quite frankly, all of Maggie Stiefvater’s books. And right now we have the privilege of a Ronan trilogy!? More about the Lynches and dreams and magic??! I still can’t even believe we have this gift. And it was. so. freaking. good. I am just going to obsess over it for all the days of ever.

It’s whimsical and stuffed full of pure dream mind twistiness, the kind that twists your brain bend in on itself. In the best possible way. It wasn’t wholly what I expected and there was so much in it. I immediately finished and wanted to start again. (NOBODY COULD STOP ME THO IF I DID.) And I know Maggie fought really hard for her health and to write again and that just makes the whole story more precious.

This is the Ronan trilogy. This is about the brothers Lynch. This is about dreaming and art and forgeries and the act of lying, intentional and carefully and accidentally. It’s here to make you think, as well as be entertaining madhouse of wonder. It is PEAK Stiefvater.

[this is not the raven cycle]

Not that it needs saying, because it should be obvious!! But just remember that fact. 😌 And TRC is my whole world, so I do love it more than CDTH. (PS. I don’t recommend reading CDTH without TRC!) Ronan didn’t have much of an arc in this, because that’s so deeply embedded into TRC, but he continues to grow and change and flourish — and be viciously badass. I also thought the book would have more Adam, I did miss him, and Gansey and Blue (their cameo mentions were EVERYTHING; I screamed) but I have a feeling there’ll be more Adam in book 2. Also total moment for grown!college!Adam being so confident and amazing and queer and I love him with all my heart. And, quite frankly, I love that this book is unapologetically queer but doesn’t over-sexualise Ronan and Adam. And their moments together were precious. They’re stupid in love. It’s adorable.

[new characters]

There are three main POVs in this: Ronan, Jordan Hennessy, and Carmen Farooq-Lane.

So I don’t want to spoil anything…which makes it so hard to write this review.😂 All I’ll say is that this book is crammed full of artists and magic and dreams…and people who wish to kill dreamers and their dreams. I really loved Jordan Hennessy and the complicities behind her character! Less keen on Farooq-Lane’s chapters, but you’ll understand why when you read it.

Obviously I love Ronan most because I’ve had 5 books with him now. So every time it wasn’t his POV, I did pine for it. But the amount of Declan Lynch in this book is a freaking gift. My careful Slytherin son, agh, I love him. Messy family dynamics and angst are my favourite thing and all the Lynch brothers are [chef’s kiss] disasters.

(Also Declan was driving and couldn’t open his protein bar, so Ronan did for him, and THAT is character development.)

You are made of dreams and this world is not for you.

[dreams and their dreamers]

It explored the Dreaming magic and concepts so so deeply and I adored that. And the description of dreams still has left me wordless because this book is written about things you…can’t write about???? Concepts and shapes. Feelings made tangible. Like how do you describe what it looks and feels like in that muzzy moment between sleeping and awake? This book CAPTURES IT. I don’t sleep deeply, so I do a lot of lucid dreaming and just letting my mind wander greyishly — and every time I read a Stiefvater scene on dreaming, I’m like: “wow this is how it feels.”

The entire book is pure dreamer wildness and creativity and sheer imagination.

We have: Messed up dreams. New villains. New intangible threats. Magical blackmarkets. Fascinating chaacters. Gorgeous characters. An unexpected romance that I adored. Plot twists that genuinely had me floored.

[was this book everything I hoped?]

I’ve been pining for it for so so long and then, while reading, I had to remind myself to breathe. But it was incredible. I CRY. My heart is so full!!! I had twinges of things I wanted more of (aka Adam) and I still love TRC better when I wanted to love them equally (but like there’s TIME FOR REREADS). I can’t wait until I’m 4 rereads in deep and obsessing over single sentences at midnight.

This book is so clever too, I just…! The deft weaving of concepts and foreshadowing and cleverness. My heart leaps with wanting the next book.

I thought I’d have nothing to say in this review except all caps “I love it” just like, a million times. But I managed to just gush on and on which goes to show how good it was. Ahhhh.

But also…

I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.
Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it.
Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . .

Goodreads | Book Depository

| what do you think?|

is anyone else hanging out desperately for this? or have you read it? tell me all your thoughts!! and is there a series you’d love to have a spin-off for?

 

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho (Ft. Korean Folklore and Perfect Angst Levels)

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You know those books where you just have such a good time while reading?!

This. This here is one. 😌 It felt so quintessentially YA: teenage angst, drama, school bullies, mythological creatures, soft boys and grumpy girls…I was just heart-eyes over the whole story. It had such a fun beginning and then lovingly bundled my heart into a ball and thREW IT IN A FIRE for the end. This hit hard, okay, super hard. It was full of drama and bantery dialogue, of sacrifice and true love, of mythology and the discussion of what makes a monster. It has messed up families that you’ll hate and love all at once. It had it ALL.

Me: *battered up and bleeding by the emotional gymnastics I just went through*
Me: I had a good !!! time !!! reading this!!

It’s centred around the Korean folklore of the gumiho — the nine-tailed fox who must eat the gi of its victims to live.

Monster lore is my favourite okay. I love all the questions and the morally-grey discussions. If you murder an evil man, does that make you evil? If you will die unless you kill others, are you morally responsible for their deaths still? Miyoung is working her way through all these questions. She hates her monstrous side, but it’s also her family and culture and life. Her mum is cold and hard, but she does everything for her daughter. Is her mother a monster for literally choosing to kill anyone to keep her daughter safe?

I also loved all the pockets of gumiho lore between the chapters!!

Also the characters were just [chef’s kiss] adorable. I love them.

Look it has my favourite trope: bubbly sunshiney boy befriends the grumpy could-definitely-kill-you girl. They are adorable. Jihoon was so dogged with his offer of friendship. And look there were so many layers here to make you cry. Jihoon having been abandoned all his life and being affable to offset his trauma, refusing to let Miyoung be bullied. He accidentally finds out her secrets and he’s so respectful about it. And Miyoung, just wanting to protect herself from hurt because she’s a monster and doesn’t want him do die…ajafskdla THE ANGST.

Miyoung watches a lot of Korean dramas to fill the friendless void in her life, and I did feel Wicked Fox kind of reflected the soap-opera-y dramas at times (some of the reveals were like that haha). But I enjoyed it! The writing was always super engaging and the story had a fantastic flow.

Basically this filled my craving for needing a fun and dramatic and solidly good story.

It has monsters and is stuffed with #Ownvoices Korean culture and folklore. It lined up some of the most delightful tropes, put in complex and messy family relationships, had a restaurant setting, gave us a talkative adorkable boy and the heartaching steel girl of our dreams, and then it also tipped in some murder and blood. 🤗Gotta say. That is my favourite thing.

Thank you to PRH International #partner for the ARC! And I also have a copy from a FairyLoot box!

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.
But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.
Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway.
With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

| what do you think?|

is this one on your TBR ?? have you read it? tell me all your thoughts! do you like books where they discuss what makes a monster??

 

 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Ft. That Dark Fantasy We’ve All Been Desperate For!)

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Ok so this? THIS is the dark academia book I’ve been longing for.

It is super hyped and I mean, of course: it’s Leigh Bardugo! We are on the cusp of a Grisha Netflix show, we’re hanging out for the sequel to King of Scars, we have the entire sprawling Grisha series being a founding stone of YA. This is her ninth novel (heh; that worked out well) and I was super keen to see her flex her writing prowess into a new genre and shape.

The whole story is a vicious story of vindictive revenge, of murders and ghosts, and societies in Yale that play around with dark magic. But also of importantly a story of healing.

And yeah. You finish it, and you get a little mad there’s no book 2 yet. (But I don’t think the cliffhanger was too torturous.)

 

Barudo’s foray into adult literature

Alright so let’s be clear here: this is adult lit. I’ve seen a lot of people upset about how dark it is…but it’s, uh, adult lit. Leigh Bardugo’s been super open about it containing explicit content and including topics like murder, sexual assault, and violence. So obviously not everyone wants to read that, which is totally fine. But I kind of am confused at the bitterness on twitter of a dark academia book being, uh, dark. Anyway.

Adult vs YA in style: It did read differently to her YA! The prose is more dense and uses grandiose language. It’s a bit of a prowess flex, and that’s okay. I appreciated it. It dumps you in without a lot of background info on the magic system etc, and lots is NOT explained. But it wasn’t difficult to jog a bit to keep up. The first 1/3 felt really dense/slow, but then it sped up and got a crackalackin on in pace.

it’s about a girl who can see ghosts

Hello, here is a traumatised character who gets told “no” and smashes through doors anyway. Alex is a highschool drop out, druggie, and runaway who’s recruited to work for the Lethe society at Yale because she has a rare skill: she can see ghosts, aka The Grays. Basically Lethe is the “police” of the dark magic societies. They’re supposed to monitor everyone, keep the dark rituals in check (hey don’t go murdering each other, kids!) and manage the greys who are drawn to rituals involving blood. The book starts off with a murder of a town girl and Alex refuses to let it drop. Intuitively I realise it’s because Alex doesn’t want dead girls overlooked. But on page? It wasn’t actually that convincing why Alex went so hard for this case. But anyway.

So yeah! It’s a murder-mystery basically! Alex follow this tangled web the societies of woven around this dead girl, and it’s fascinating, although I kinda guessed the ultimate villain waaaay early.

Alex also has a heartwrenching arc with the grays, going from being a horrific trauma for her over to things she is working to control and team up with. We stan an emotional arc.

I LOVED the flashy setting in Yale, the twisted and secretive and dark culture of the societies, and the mysteries of everyday and arcane and obscure magic (in objects or powders etc) filtered through the storyline.

Let’s talk about the characters…

Okay characters make or break a book for me. 👀 I liked this lot, but I was pretty much ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about their angst too. I don’t know why exactly???

➢ Alex Stern: absolutely a frightening dark-hearted wonder. I liked it when she just went dark side.
➢ Darlington (Danny Arlington): ok dude reminded me of Gansey from The Raven Cycle, all scholarly and gentlemanly and sort of views Alex as a fleabitten kitten he has to train. HOWEVER. He’s “vanished” for all the the obok and we only get him in flash backs. I liked him, but I did not have enough page time to care.
➢ Dawes: Cannot remember her first name but Dawes is FAB. Intrepid, quiet. Makes soup. Cleans up the messes when Alex arrives home beaten half to hell. She’s just trying to finish her PHD and not die and when people get loud, she vanishes into her sweater. Relatable.
➢ Turner: packet mix gruff detective who is a pain but then all soft inside etc etc. See any murder mystery ever. Hop from Stranger Things, etc etc.

And look just a quick note on diversity? Alex doesn’t know her father and suspects he’s maybe Mexican or Dominican. I was kind of unimpressed with the racist comments thrown in (Alex’s friend saying “get out of the sun before you look like a Mexican”) and the fact they were not rebuffed. I do NOT think that writing a racist character equals a racist author and/or book. But I’m kind of over quips like that if they’re not going to be addressed.

 

So what did I think overall?

Look it’s hyped and it’s intimidating with all its rave reviews and endorsements from mega-famous authors (STEPHAN KING! LEV GROSSMAN!). I liked it a lot. It was wickedly dark and gory at times, as well as viciously dark and heart breaking at times. It tackled a lot of #MeToo themes, with women being used and silenced and blamed while they are victims of privileged men’s whims. I think that was brilliantly handled. Harrowing, but written thoughtfully.

But I didn’t fall in love with the characters like I hoped I would, and while I enjoyed the plot deliciously and wickedly, it never shocked or spun my head around. I think I expected a little bit more? But I do plan to reread. I loved Six of Crows more the second time too.

 

this book is about playing with dark magic you don’t understand. about not giving up when doors slam on your fingers. it’s about justice for girls and clawing towards healing with teeth and bloody fingernails. it is dark and occasionally there is blood everywhere and there are dead things. and they’re watching you.

Thanks Hachette Australia for the review-copy! Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo came out Oct 8th, 2019

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

Goodreads | Hachette AUS | Booktopia | Book Depository | Amazon

★★★★☆

| what about you? |

has the hype caught you for this one!? is it on your tbr? let me know what you think if you’ve read it!! and do you like dark fantasy?

 

Monuments by Will Kostakis (Ft. Chaotic Aussie Kids And Disagreeable Gods)

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Monuments is a bit of a fun comedic romp, with gods waking up under Australian schools and kids getting accidental super powers.

It’s a prominently a comedy, so I sort of read it in that mindset: here for the epic one-liners and the quirk! Bit of a Percy Jackson vibe, nearly?! I read it for the funny one-liners instead of overthinking the depth of the plot. And shh, I know Aussies being “laid back” is a stereotype, but it was just so truuuuue. Tell a kid he’s woken a god and he’s like, “ya cool mate”, and stops eating chocolate covered almonds to tag along and see how it all goes.

Such golden Aussie humour the whole way through.

the story follows Connor as he accidentally solves a secret puzzle room and finds a statue that comes to life

Since his ex-best-friend called him “boring”, he’s determined to prove he isn’t. And yes, that’s like 100% of his motivation for a good deal of the book. 😂 He ends up tagging along behind Sally, a Guardian, who’s waking up the gods to relocate them. Connor is just a dork and a Hufflepuff and really takes it all in. They meet a motley cast of gods and other Guardians and get tangled up in a fancy school ball (“hE DOESN’T EVEN GO THERE.”) There are swords and drippy burritos and there is a lot of exceptionally bad driving.

I did wonder why these all-powerful gods couldn’t protect themselves. “We’re immortal!” they say, before crumbling to dust for the dumbest reasons. But I think the charm of the book was that it was a bit nonsensical too?

i also really loved all the diversity!

It’s #ownvoices for gay and Greek rep. Connor just casually blurts “I’M SUPER GAY” to a very lovely boy at a ball he’s not supposed to be at…and they quickly connect. It is…erm, instalove. Overall I would’ve loved to see the characters go deeper, emotionally.

i definitely busted up laughing out loud several times

I did, in fact, scare my dog. He left my room. (I swear he’s so disapproving of me having a good time smh.) The quips were just on point! I remember really laughing in The First Third and I enjoyed The Sidekicks, so here for Kostakis’ super engaging voice! It’s definitely the kind of writing you easily mow through and realise half the book is already gone.

Monuments is a comedy tousled with a bunch of gods, and puzzles, and conspiracy theories, all heralded by a hufflepuff boy who kind of doesn’t want anyone to get hurt or be sad, and he ends up with a massive sword and a heck of a lot of supernatural responsibilities.

This is what happens when you skip class and try tossing and catching chocolate almonds in your mouth until you drop one and it shows you to a secret passage way and you wake a god. Stay in school, kids.

Thanks Hachette AUS for the ARC! Monuments by Will Kostakis came out Sept 2019

All 16-year-old Connor is trying to do is avoid his ex-best friend when he stumbles upon a trapdoor to a secret chamber under his school. But when Sally Rodgers breaks into the same secret chamber looking for an ancient being, things take an unexpected turn . . . and Connor’s life will never be the same again.
Along with the mysterious Sally and, later on, his new friend Locky, Connor discovers the Monuments – gods who have been buried for generations – who created the world and hid themselves away from humanity to keep everyone safe. But now they’re exposed and vulnerable, and Connor isn’t sure who, himself included, can be trusted with the knowledge and the power these gods have.
Monuments is the first book in an exciting new duology from YA star, Will Kostakis.

Goodreads | Hachette | Booktopia | Book Depository

| what about you? |

do you prefer comedy or serious fantasy? and do you read much Aussie lit? tell me what you think of Monuments if you’ve read it!!!

 

Sword And Pen by Rachel Caine (Ft. Epic Giveaway, Excerpt, & My Feels About This Finale!)

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It’s time to celebrate the finale of the Great Library series!

And to capitalise on the pun opportunity I have been given — it was great. 😂🤭Ok I’m good now, I’m fine…

But truly this series is exquisitely incredible, thrilling and heart-wrenching and full of violent Ravenclaws (which, quite frankly, is amazing to read about). I don’t often stick with long series because I have the attention span of a gnat. But I’ve craved every book since Ink & Bone released back in 2015!

Today I’m part of the blog tour for Sword and Pen.

It’s really sad to say goodbye 😫But it was also a stunning ending.

Keep reading for some immensely epic giveaways + my review + and an excerpt from Thomas!

 

(And huge thank you to Berkley Pub and Rachel Caine for having me as part of the tour!)

➢ Catch up on my reviews of the first 4 books:

Goodreads | Booktopia | Book Depository | Amazon

With the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it’s worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.
The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain. Jess Brightwell and his friends must come together as never before, to forge a new future for the Great Library . . . or see everything it stood for crumble.

Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than fifty novels in a diverse range of genres and categories. She’s been honored with multiple awards from RT Booklovers Association and the Texas Library Association, and was honored with two spots on the 2012 “Most Favorite Books of UK Schoolchildren” list. In 2006, she created the Morganville Vampires series in young adult, and premiered the TLA-listed novel Prince of Shadows in 2015, and the new Great Library series with Ink and Bone in 2016. Rachel and her husband R. Cat Conrad live and work in Fort Worth, Texas.

Twitter | Instagram | Website | Facebook

Open for an excerpt

Open For excerpt from THOMAS

“No, not like that,” Thomas said, and elbowed the Artifex Magnus aside. He was sweating, stripped of his jacket, and he hardly recognized that he’d just shoved a member of the Great Library’s Curia out of the way until it was far too late. “Sorry,” he mumbled, but not with any real regret. “We have little time.”

“Yes, I know that, son,” Artifex Greta Jones said. She was American, which was a curiosity in and of itself—a round, pleasant woman with more than enough talent at engineering for nearly any task set before her. A rich, slow accent like melting butter. “Easy now. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”

There was no time to be polite, or easy. Thomas knew he could do better. That wasn’t modest, but it was true. He quickly unscrewed the bolts holding the gigantic crystal in place and gently lowered it to the worktable nearby. Everything looked fine, but he could read from the power consumption curve that it was not fine at all. “It’s not performing as expected,” he said as he unbolted the platinum casing that held the crystal. “The power cycle should have been longer, and recovery shorter. There’s something—”

As soon as the casing was off, he saw it, and his heart sank. Something had been off in the measurements, just the tiniest bit, and the distribution of stress must have thrown the calculations off and caused vibration. Vibration had caused a flaw.

The crystal was useless. The crack within it was tiny, a flaw that would have been meaningless for any other purpose … but not this one. It could be recut and the flaw eliminated, but he’d custom-built the casing for this stone to exacting specifications.

And they didn’t have time to machine new parts and cut a new crystal now.

The Artifex looked at the crystal, and he could tell she saw what he did. “It’ll crack straight through the next time we use it,” she said. “You were right. I’m sorry I doubted you. We could recut it, but that will reduce power …”

“It will,” he confirmed. “I’ll have to have the jewelers cut another crystal while I make a different kind of casing. One that can adjust to different crystal dimensions, in case we must change it more frequently. Put this one back, reduce the power output, and pray that they don’t force us to use it again more than once before the replacement is ready.” The Lighthouse ray was, in effect, a giant bluff, a gamble that he and the Artifex had decided was worth the risk. Now more than ever it had become more threat than reality.

Sword And Pen was stressfully brilliant, powerful and absolutely destroying.

I actually had to take a moment to breathe after I finished because, like Jess, I spent most of the book gasping and dying between paragraphs that were obviously designed to spear me right through the feels. This books was so so intense and it delivered everything I needed in a finale. Including making me not know if a single character I liked would get through. I was tHAT stressed!! I was so stressed!!!!

things I did while reading:
(a) pressed the entire ARC to my face and scream/cried at Santi calling Jess his and Wolfe’s son
(b) panicked about Jess’ life expectancy
(c) said I hated it and loved it in a single breath
(d) took too many photos for my bookstagram
(e) died and came back as a library haunting ghost of appreciation

Last books are always hard to review because I don’t want to give spoilers! 👀

But this totally delivered with a tight-action-packed plot, that was full of war and battles, super high stakes, and valiant sacrifices. It also had tons of stupid teenagers thinking they’re invincible (I love them) and Wolfe getting grey hairs because his kids are irresponsible about their health (I love him). It had so so so many satisfying plot twists. I was just beaming by the end.

It managed to be painful on the feels, heartbreaking at times, and also intensely right and satisfying. That’s a hard balance to pull off in a finale, and I applaud the entire series for constantly delivering to my super high expectations.

A little run down about what the characters were up to…

  • Jess gets himself seriously seriously hurt and I definitely ached for him through the entire book. His ptsd and depression spiral is gut-wrenching. I love him so much ahhh.
  • Wolfe and Santi didn’t have a lot of chapters in this one but I loved every scene they were in. Their devotion to each other is incredible; gay dads of the century. We stan. 😭🙌🏻I also love that Santi gave up hoping people would be sensible and just started pairing everyone off so at least the hot-heads had someone to temper them down.
  • Thomas is off solving lots of puzzles; also being a super weapons genius while being the softest bean ever.
  • Dario is such a snake I love him. Tbh he bad more chemistry with Jess than Morgan/Jess did but ok.
  • Khalila no spoilers but AHHHH SHE IS A QUEEN AND I LOVE HER. She really just proves herself in this one and I adored her arc.
  • Glain has always been like the smallest part of the squad but she is badass and I do like her.
  • Morgan was super powerful and kinda scary with it, but I did appreciate her whole storyline for this finale.

 

Spoilers About The Finale

(seriously DON’T click until after you’ve read it!)

open for finale SPOILERS
I very very much thought it was setting up Jess to DIE. I was freaking out.😭😂 I always feel like a journey is pointless if the protagonist doesn’t make it sooooo…I was worried. But my son, my love, Jess got through. His emotional pain and ruination over Brendan dying in his arms really followed him through this book and I broke with him. Grief = exceptionally written. 

I just wish there’d been like a “5 years later” epilogue showing us what everyone is up to!!!

→  Also Wolfe and Santi being at his hospital bed at the end, threatening to murder his dad, saying TEHY WERE HIS NEW DADS??? 10/10 best moment of the book. My HEARTTTTT.

→ Morgan’s death was super sad, but it also felt well handled and right. And tbh she was never my favourite and I never felt she and Jess fit perfectly. So she’s in a bodyless dimension being free and I’m just like! Ok!

→  And YES that Khalila got to be the Archivist. SO deserved. Best and most satisfying ending.

I also love how the book balanced destruction, violence, and hope.

Ultimately, the series is about fighting for what you believe, for making sure no one person has the ability to dictate the spread of knowledge through the world. The book is about knowledge being power…about found-family being the truest part of your heart…and about freedom. It got so so dark in this book. But it gave us those slivers of light that we needed to cling onto.

It was perfect. Freaking perfect. I’m NOT over it and will be melting inside for at least 600 years.

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| what do you think? |

have you read this series or is it on your TBR?? tell me which cover is your favourite too!! (mine is Paper & Fire because I love orange so much)

 

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare (Ft. Short Stories If You Miss Your Old Faves!)

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It’s always a satisfying pleasure to be back in my favourite Shadowhunter world.

I just adore it all so much, ok? I’m in deep. I love that we get backstory and extra time with favourite characters. I love the indulgence of seeing characters grow up over the course of all the series and get married and have kids. Like, ok sometimes it’s totally sappy. But I don’t CARE. I am a soft leaf of grass these days. Let me be happy with my kids.

This is a collection of 10 short stories.

They’re set from the 1900s to 2012 and all sort of incorporate the Shadow Market. Most are through Jem Carstair’s eyes (when he’s a Silent Brother and when he’s free) and dude is a miserable eloquent mop and I love him so much. I was #TeamJem the whole way ok (he deserved better), so this was just nice to be back with him as he searches for the lost Herondale line as a tribute to Will.

TL;DR version of my feels

  • love love love because it’s Shadowhunters ok
  • the Shadowhunter family tree is convoluted and exhausting
  • I resent everyone in TID growing up to name their children all after each other. I cannot tell anyone apart or know who belongs to who.
  • I really don’t like the Thule!Jace storyline I just…thought I’d get onboard but I am not. That’s my only criticism for the whole series oops.
  • Freaking HERE for a certain couple having a baby at the end.😍
  • Magnus/Alec are a GIFT; eternally.
  • I’m so glad Clare keeps gifting us with little in-between moments and giving these domestic scenes + action and relaying important info. (But the domestic scenes make me heart eyes.)
  • I really loved the art starting each story!!

Cast Long Shadows

This was the hardest to follow because we have like ALL the TID kids here and holy heck I could not keep them straight. Fairchilds and Herondales and Lightwoods galore. They all had so many kids hahah. Anyway it was sad? But rather made me think Matthew was an idiot for trusting a faerie potion instead of talking to his parents.

Every Exquisite Thing

Butch lesbian appreciation. We stan. I also just loved this quiet love and acceptance of queerness by Anna’s parents!! Also Jem being badass and solving Shadow Market mysteries.

Learn About Loss

Brother Zachariah (cough*Jem*cough) and Sister Emilia go to a carnival to discover more about the Lost Herondale line. And look, Jem has a dream where he and Will run hand-in-hand across a moonlight rooftops and u tell me that’s very heterosexual.

A Deeper Love

Oh wow this one was STRESSFUL. Jem gets hurt and Tessa freaks out and it’s set in WWII and also features Catrina Loss! I really liked this one. Nothing like some good wretched feels.

The Wicked Ones

This was like…ugh [throws up a little] a 17yo shadowhunter crushing on Stephan Herondale (23yo and married) so much that she’ll do anything to make him fall in love with her. These are Jace’s parents! And it shows more how Valentine controlled his inner circle.

Son of the Dawn

ok this one made me laugh because it has Raphael in it (LOVE Raphael) and Lily Chen, who ends up calling Jem “Brother Snackeriah” which ya know. She is not wrong. They also go pick up baby!Jace (he’s like 10 or something, but a baby) from being shipped to the Lightwoods on a boat loaded with drugs. Also Jace is so deeply damaged. Also BABY ISABELLE AND ALEC. They’re adorable.

The Land I Lost

100000% my favourite story of the book. Laughed out LOUD. Wanted to cry. Omg. This is when Alec finds and adopts little Rafe and I just!!! Ok I am a mess for Alec/Magnus domestic scenes and while this was mostly Alec being badass alone in Buenos Aires and finding the Institute there is super corrupt…it still had the most ADORABLE scenes in it. Also Rafe was such a feral little thing and every time Alec was just holding him comfortingly. 😫💛 Also Magnus’ line of “you left for 3 days and adopted a child…imagine if we let you roam for a week.” I LOVE THEM.

Through Blood, Through Fire

Jem and Tessa are still looking for that Lost Herondale kid. They are not good at this hide and seek. This one is angsty but I appreciate Jem/Tessa together. Aw.

The Lost World

Finally we get some BLACKTHORNS. This is mostly by Livvy, but some of Ty’s POV. I really miss Ty and I’m crying…he is so sad. He refuses to acknowledge he has a hole in his life without Kit. Shows more of what Livy can do now…I liked it but made me SAD that we don’t get Wicked Powers for so so long….I want it now.

Forever Fallen

Ok this was soft sweetness with Baby Carstairs and Kit stopping being an abandoned orphan. LOVE the Carstairs family 100%. Also more of Thule!Jace who I do not understand and do not want to see ever again 🤗 I assume this is warning that there will be lots of Thule storyline in Wicked Power and bleh. Do not want. But I do want Ty and Kit and will die for them. So. (Yes, I’m chill about it.)

Also the last sentence is: “This evening, the whole sky was bronze, as though to summon wicked powers.”

SCREEEEAMING

Thank you to Walker Books AUS for the review-copy! It released June, 2019.

Goodreads | Booktopia | Walker Books | Book Depository | Amazon

The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks and vampires. There the Downworlders buy and sell magical objects, make dark bargains, and whisper secrets they do not want the Nephilim to know. Through two centuries, however, there has been a frequent visitor to the Shadow Market from the City of Bones, the very heart of the Shadowhunters. As a Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah is sworn keeper of the laws and lore of the Nephilim. But once he was a Shadowhunter called Jem Carstairs, and his love, then and always, is the warlock Tessa Gray.
Follow Brother Zachariah and see, against the backdrop of the Shadow Market’s dark dealings and festive celebrations, Anna Lightwood’s first romance, Matthew Fairchild’s great sin and Tessa Gray plunged into a world war. Valentine Morgenstern buys a soul at the Market and a young Jace Wayland’s soul finds safe harbor. In the Market is hidden a lost heir and a beloved ghost, and no one can save you once you have traded away your heart. Not even Brother Zachariah…

| what do you think? |

tell me your favourite Shadowhunter series! and have you read these short stories yet? are they on your TBR?

 

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!

 

 

Tarot by Marissa Kennerson (A Whimsical Story Of Soft Magic)

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Tarot was such a whimsically beautiful tale!

It reads like a fairy tale or a tumble down a rabbit hole into Wonderland — and I don’t read a lot of books like this, with such an ethereal style, so I really enjoyed the difference! It’s a story about a girl who creates magical tapestries and you could just see the artistry of how the story was put together. Plus the stark contrasts between Anna’s love of beautiful things and how she craves kindness — vs — the inflexible destruction of a tyrannical king who’ll murder to get what he wants??! It was well done.

Also can we please appreciate the pastel perfection fo this cover.  🙌🏻

so much thanks to the author for sending me a copy of her beautiful book!

➸ Anna grows up isolated and alone in a tower…but she refuses to let this warp her.

Like this could be a total villain origin story — but Anna is the actual sweetest soul?! And for once I just really loved reading about a Soft™ girl because strength comes in all shapes. Anna is whimsical and a dreamer, she craves beauty and believes the best of everyone. She makes these AMAZING tapestries, overflowing with vivid colours and imaginations…and she kind of walks herself right into one.

 

➸ Welcome to the tropical paradise of the land of cups!

It gave me some serious hippy commune vibes…but it was also so sweet? Like it’s just full of all these teenagers who genuinely love this life where they flow together and share the work and love. Emotions are all very simplistic and naive. And Anna is like super naive herself, having been locked in a tower for so long, so she makes some mistakes that make you go 😬 But realistically? Her actions made sense. The romance is really fast though, so I didn’t really connect to it, but again…it kind of made sense that Anna would fall in love fast when she’s never had this before. I was just a little awkward about how they’d do things that could have been super sexual, but weren’t? Like taking a bath together… but then I thought about:

Spoiler Mentioned
The fact that Anna CREATED Cups so if she’s naive, then obviously the people she created would be too.

 

➸ Also the Tarot card parallels were great!

Like some of the characters were The Fool, The Magician, the Hermit, etc. And Anna escapes to Cups and the old kingdom is Pentacles. I’m not familiar with the whole tarot deck, so I probably missed references. But it was an interesting way to like weave it in like a retelling?!

 

➸ Also the contrasts = am here for that.

The dark kingdom she escapes from vs the soft pastel loving beachside commune she ends up in. Plus when these worlds collide it goes from 0 to 100 real fast and just W O W my heart wasn’t ready.

 

➸ The only thing I’m a little uncomfortable with…

…is just how the sole queer couple was written. It doesn’t bury its gays, but it didn’t wrap up their story line and they got, arguably, the worst time. I won’t go into spoilers, but yeah. I’ve just read a lot of disappointing queer rep this month, so I probably went into this feeling a bit raw.

Overall, this was just a delight. It’s whimsical and soft and flowing…and it really captures Anna’s vulnerability as she falls in love with the people of this seaside paradise and realises it’s her fault that darkness is coming. It’s also a bit of a parallel on how humanity gets scared of things they can’t control so they try to destroy it.

 

Anna was never supposed to exist. Born of a forbidden union between the Queen and the tyrannical King’s archnemesis, Anna is forced to live out her days isolated in the Tower, with only her mentors and friends the Hermit, the Fool, and the Magician to keep her company. To pass the time, Anna imagines unique worlds populated by creatives and dreamers—the exact opposite of the King’s land of fixed fates and rigid rules—and weaves them into four glorious tapestries.
But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday and her promised release from the Tower, Anna discovers her true lineage: She’s the daughter of Marco, a powerful magician, and the King is worried that his magical gifts are starting to surface in Anna. Fearing for her life, Anna flees the Tower and finds herself in Cups, a lush, tropical land full of all the adventure, free-spiritedness, and creativity she imagined while weaving.
Anna thinks she’s found paradise in this world of beachside parties, endless food and drink, and exhilarating romance. But when the fabric of Cups begins to unravel, Anna discovers that her tapestries are more than just decoration. They’re the foundation for a new world that she is destined to create—as long as the terrors from the old world don’t catch up with her first.

Goodreads | Amazon | book depository |

 

➸ you might also like…

do you prefer books with more factual styles or do you like fairy tale vibes? and would you like to live in a paradise beach community?? because I’d be down for a hammock nap right about now 😂tell me if this is on your tbr!

 

Slayer by Kiersten White (A Buffy Spinoff Ft. The World’s Most Awkward Chosen One)

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Despite having never seen a single episode of Buffy…I enjoyed reading Slayer!

And shshhh yes I know you’re going to go yell at me to go watch it…but can we acknowledge how many books there are in the world and that I am trying to read them all? Fitting in tv shows is the Real Struggle.

I really adore Kiersten White, especially after her And I Darken series which was both bloody and badass. I also have her Elizabeth Frankenstein retelling! Which I will get to! (This is why I haven’t watched Buffy ok? So. many. books.)

 

➸ Is it enjoyable if you don’t know the original Buffy show?

A resounding “YES!” from me. I actually thought it would be about Buffy, but it’s about Nina and her hidden group of Watchers in a castle in Ireland. It’s set after Buffy apparently broke the world and killed magic…so the backstory was a bit hazy to me. But this is where we’re at. Nina hates Slayers because her dad died because of Buffy…but irony is a jerk, so Nina’s destiny is, in fact, to be a Slayer. (I do question why there was ever supposed to be “just one Slayer”. I mean hi @ the rest of the world? Do they just get to drown in their own vampires or…?? Thx, America.)

 

➸ It gave me immense Supernatural TV show x Shadowhunters vibes.

Ok yes look I know I just said “I have no times for shows!” but I have seen 11 seasons of Superantural in my youth (lol a few years ago). So Slayer had all the trappings of these types of things: (1) secret magical organisation, (2) everyone is steeped in flawed tradition, (3) there are Slayers and Watchers, (4) killin’ demons, researchin’ in the big archaic libraries, (5) let’s leave the saving of the world to a bunch of 16 year olds!

So lots of tropes? Yes. But also lots of heart, diversity, and really relatable messages and great themes. Like even when Nina’s undeniably proved to be a Slayer, people are STILL telling her “Yeah, honey, but you don’t really know what you’re talking about.” Most teenage girls get dismissed like this. Nina is relatable and her decision to take hold of her own fate was super empowering. (Plus Nina is just a sweetie and bubble of sunshine who could ALSO CRUSH YOUR THROAT WITH HER FIST. So! Love her!)

 

➸ Gonna be here with my new demon hunting crew forever, thanks.

Squad goals! Let’s talk about our crew (and even though there were a lot of characters, I loved their dynamics and didn’t get lost!)

✧ Nina: an awkward bundle of sunshine. Will break your jaw and then say sorrysorry!!!! also has yelled “here doggy” at a hellhound before and nearly died.
✧ Artemis: Nina’s twin sister and The Power Child, favourite of their mother, the one everyone expects to be badass and powerful. Power lesbian with knives. Her and Nina have a complicated sisterhood…relationships are strained here ok.
✧ Rhys: wears glasses, loves books, is apparently a “leader” but would rather snuggle with his boyfriend. 0/10 has no idea what is going on but is very Ernest and Supportive.
✧ Cillian: human boyfriend of said Rhys. British-Nigerian. Has a witchy mother and knows about Slayers/Watchers even though he shouldn’t. Will make puns before they nearly die. Has kept a demon in his shed before and tried to make it comfy. Likes Eurovision. Has 100% more common sense than anyone who’s supernatural and trained in combat.
✧ Leo: old crush of Nina, Latinx, went missing but is now b a c k and hot. Acts smooth and confident but absolutely can’t keep up with Nina at all and is probably exhausted.

I also appreciate that it was squad > romance. The romance thread is tiny and honestly didn’t do anything for me haha. Except for:

Romance Spoiler Mentioned
How it turned out that Leo was actually a demon and his mother was a Super Demon. So THAT was fun and I loved that. Also he died, and that was so much easier than having to have a flat romance! I’m heartless! Yes! How are you! 

 

Also Nina and Cillian being Best Bros was giving me life in my bones. Basically them:

Nina: can u keep a demon in your shed for me???
Cillian: SURE
Cillian: what would he like on his sandwich!
Cillian: also will he kill me idk might be good to ask this too

 

➸ As for the plot…

You know that feel when something is super predictable but you love the characters, the writing, the sass, and are just having a good time anyway? This is me here. It was also 400pgs so I think it could’ve been a bit faster/tighter instead of meandering along? But really all I can think about is how I want book 2 so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

Slayer is a super enjoyable adventure of magical catastrophes, mistaken “Chosen One” feels, and fighting demons with your friends. (Friends who slay together, stay together!) Overall it was pretty predictable, but sassy and fun. It was like a book of an good ol’ favourite ice cream flavour.

 

Into every generation a Slayer is born…
Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.
Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.
Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.
As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…
But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.
One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.

Goodreads | Simon & Schuster | booktopia | book depository

 

➸ You might also like…

   

is there a tv show you’d like to see a book spin-off series for? have you seen buffy? is Slayer on your tbr?

 

To Best The Boys by Mary Weber (Ft. STEM Girls Crushing The Patriarchy Yessss)

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If you thought getting into university was stressful, woah, take a step back and try this book.

It’s basically about a contest where the winner of the death-defying-maze-of-monsters gets a scholarship to university and also PTSD. (Isn’t that lovely!? Packaged deal!) I totally enjoyed myself with this one! The author is beyond lovely on instagram and has reached out and said such encouraging things to me during my debut year when I was losing hair (writing is hard, folks). I was super excited to read my first book from her!

It was such an empowering adventure. Did not disappoint!

 

Thanks to the author + Harpercollins for the ARC!

➸ I love the apt parallels to today’s world too.

It’s a story that really has its fingertips on the heartbeat of society’s discussions today and I love that. It’s set in a world with a 1900s vibe and there’s magic, ballgowns, plagues, classism and ghouls. The current view of females is “go have babies” and “leave the thinking to the men”…and it makes you just shake with with rage. The book is here to hit us with discussions on what feminism truly is! And I love how it discused that it’s VALID for women to want (a) eduction and careers, but also (b) babies and being a homemaker too!! The point of feminism is: you get to choose, you have power over your body and your aspirations, and there is no “one way” to be female. Yesss for a book that brings that home — and also mixes in MAGIC.

 

➸ Rhen is our STEM girl who is the actual loveliest.

My heart is so full and warm with love for the fact we have two main girls who are so different and so brilliant. Rhen is into science and cutting up corpses. She’s also dyslexic, impulsive (like 2 seconds after a decisions she’ll hack off all her hair to fake being a boy) and sharp-witted and craves a world full of opportunities. Then there’s her cousin, Seleni, who is soft and a little giddy about her boy crushes and is intelligent and forthright and takes risks and loves frills. They’re contrast was made even more amazing by how they supported each other and were badass in their own ways. 10/10 for epic female friendships!

(Also hilarious note: I spent the longest time thinking this book was called “To The Best Boys” not To Best The Boys…because I’m also slightly dyslexic. And then I open it up and is Rhen dyslexic lmaoooo. Relate.)

 

➸ so let’s talk about these boys we need to best

Because ugh, mate, do we need to best them. Again, we’re not left with caricatures. It gives us the total scope of boys, with (1) the privileged snob jerks who treat women like property, (2) the old men so solid in their warped beliefs that they can’t see beyond their own classism, (3) the softly anxious boys who want to please their fathers…but also want change, (4) the cute dorky boys here for a good time and so chilllll, and (5) the soft careful heartfelt boys who work hard and think for themselves.

So Vincent and Germain & Co fit into category #1 and I’d be ok if they fell into the sea. I loved Beryll who is so posh and ridiculous but also sweet!!! And Will and Sam were DORKS I LOVE THEM. And Lute? Lute is a gift to this broken world. He’s the poor fisherman boy, supporting his single-mum and disabled brother (absolutely loved the disability rep!), and he’s so heartfelt and kind!! His and Rhen’s romance is here to make your heart do floppy things.

 

➸ now for university scholarships and ptsd

Ok this was amazing. It is like Caraval x The Maze Runner. We have this old rich man who runs this contest every year — the winner takes a scholarship to a university. It’s “for boys” but Rhen and Seleni dress up as boys to get in. The contest is stresssssful. Mazes. Locked rooms. Puzzles. Inventions. Hallucinations. Poisons…

There’s backstabbing and danger and the magic and wildness is amazing.

Also am a big fan of the fact the relationships were already set up (waiting for a little nudge) so there was no rushed 1-day romances. And I found the “disguised as boys” trope realistically done because who the heck is peering at everyone’s faces when tHE MAZE WALLS MIGHT EAT YOU. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It’s a plot with the potential for some annoying tropes: and it did none of them!!!!! Yes!!!!

 

➸ it’s so easy to be absorbed by the story!

I’d been finding it hard to focus lately…but this? I flew through it and lost time. I love that feeling while reading! The writing is engaging and Rhen’s voice is dynamic and she’s such a winning character with her intense passions for finding a plague cure and her anxiety over taking control of her own future.

this is truly a story of feminism and love. It embraces all types of women and their strengths and vulnerabilities. It’s about girls forging paths so that others can follow. it balances the sweetness of romantic and family love…all set in a world of ghouls and mazes and tests. Here is a book for girls taking charge of their fate and totally besting those boys.

 

Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Author’s Instagram |

 

➸ SIMILAR TITLES TO TRY…

   

give me your favourite feminism book recs! have you read many characters with dyslexia before? and is this one on your TBR pile?