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Fantasy

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron [Not Your Fluffy Fairytale…!]

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It’s time for Cinderella with a very different twist.

Which I am so here for! Also completely in love with this cover (both editions really) and I just realised that furious women in beautiful ballgowns ready to destroy the patriarchy is actually very very lovely. 😭 I also read this in just one evening and loved being able to be submersed in the world. It reads easily, but with leaves you with themes to deeply mull over.

let’s talk about the story

First off, it wasn’t what I was expecting (not a bad thing!) but I think you should go in knowing what type of story it is! I was expecting just a dark fantasy, but it’s more like a dystopian fantasy. It’s set in a fairytale kingdom style world…but with this dystopian twist. And I so appreciate how unique this was. It also took the perfect, pretty imagery of fairytales and showed us the warped twisted undercurrent of it: here the king is a monster, here the women are items to be owned, here there is no freewill. I’d pitch it as fairytales meets Only Ever Yours and The Jewel.

Women are treated horribly, abused and forced to attend the annual ball to find a “match” (aka a guy will choose them). If they don’t, they’re considered undesirable and go “missing”. There’s also magic. Witches in the woods and a bit of necromancy too. Literally has it ALL.

“What do you think needs to happen in Lille?” I ask.
She stares at me, her brown eyes glinting, a deadly serious look on her face. “I think we need to burn the whole thing to the ground and start over. The entire system, the ideals that have been woven into this society. It all has to go.”

the characters were so perfect!!

Sophia chose to breathe, and I chose to adore her. 😭😭 She truly is an excellent heroine. From muttering her opinion on the idiotic rules of this world under her breath, to questioning everything, to refusing to be crushed — she’s the kind of heroine you can’t stop cheering for. And she is an unapologetically lesbian. Even when her mother says to forget Erin and look for a boy, Sophia is like: “Okay. I have obtained A Gay Boy, is this how we do it.” Bless Sophia 😭😭(and Luke honestly, what a dumbass but I appreciated he tried to help).

Then we have Constance! She’s this vigilante who Sophia stumbles into, and they quickly decide running away isn’t enough: they want to burn the patriarchy down. Constance liked sharp things and had a sharp mouth, and honestly these two together were perfect. It didn’t feel instalovey either, and though the book is face-paced, their relationship felt natural. They found the same spark in each other, the inability to let things go, and they clicked.

Also Constance: *brandishes a knife*
Sophia: 😍✨🌷🥰💛💘🎀

It is bursting at the seams with ballgowns and defiance, of challenging the status quo and asking why again and again and again, until change is made.

It’s definitely a societal critique, and I loved how it unpacked the discrimination women face every day in our reality. It calls out men who say “I’m one of the good ones” but they still stand there and do nothing, and it doesn’t scorn feminine women, but loves on all types of girls. This whole book is a challenge to the world, and we love to see it.

With soft sapphic love and quips and triumph, it really was a fantastic read.

I don’t want to be saved by some knight in shining armour. I’d like to be the one in the armour, and I’d like to be the one doing the saving.

Thanks Bloomsbury AUS for the review copy! Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron cam out Sept 1, 2020.

It’s 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over.
Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she’s tiny until the night she’s sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball … are forfeit.
But Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen – she’s in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia’s night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world …
An electrifying twist on the classic fairytale that will inspire girls to break out of limiting stereotypes and follow their dreams!

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Publisher

what are your favourite retellings? 😍have you read this one yet? what did you think?

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger [Lipan Apache Magical Realism of Ghosts, Magic And Murder]

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You know when you read a blurb and think, “Oh this is going to be the best”…and then IT IS!!

I just had that moment. I’m very pleased. Elatsoe is such a brilliant delight of a book, that is both whimsical and lovely, and also has darkness and thoughtful themes to untangle. It has #ownvoices Lipan Apache rep and Ellie is also asexual (the book doesn’t talk about being aromantic but seems likely too!). My little ace heart just leaped for joy at just having casual ace rep on page. The book is full of magic and ghosts and a super sweet (ghost) dog and pistachio ice cream and deep family love and ties and…oh a murder mystery to solve.

It has it ALL.

PS. I did edit the cover into my photo as I read an eARC!

let’s tell a story of magic

I really loved the emphasis on storytelling throughout the pages. The book is packed with love for indigenous traditions, and a lot of Ellie’s life lessons come in the form of stories from her parents. Ellie is also a huge fan of her Six Great Grandma, who had the same power as Ellie: the ability to ask ghosts of animals to return from the afterlife. This magic is super fascinating (and Ellie sort of toes the line between using it safely and not). Ellie’s companion the whole way through is her little ghost dog Kirby, who died of old age but she brought him back so she’d never have to miss him. 🥺💛💛 My heart just got soft and flopped all over the place.

The world is also our world but…not. It’s this slightly alternate reality where there’s magic and vampires and ghosts and all sorts of mythology. Ellie’s still dealing with racism and white men who think they’re better than everyone else. But there’s dark magical secrets and mysteries to unravel. And sometimes Ellie sort of wakens a thousand year old trillobite too. Just everyday things you know!! This is such deft and beautifully crafted magical realism. I loved the world.

what goes down

So the premise is that Ellie’s cousin dies unexpectedly, but the facts about his “car accident” don’t add up, and Ellie knows it’s foul play. She ends up investigating this odd little town where people don’t stop staring at strangers, and when her cousin’s ghost names his murderer in a dream, Ellie will stop at nothing to figure out WHAT happened. The have the culprit, but not the why or how.

It did get creepy in one stage and I was reading at night and was just sort of shivering. The writing is excellent like that. Total fan. Freak me out, little book, I approve.

the  characters are everything!

So Ellie is amazing!! She has such a dry, wry voice and humour, and she’s so sure of herself. She’s confident about being ace and she cracks jokes about it. Her family is her anchor, and she’s definitely a little anxious too.  There’s no romance! Her best friend is Jay who is, look I’m going to say it, a himbo. 😂 He is a tall blonde cheerleader dumbass and he’s just lovely?! The whole way through he is LOVELY. Supportive of Ellie and there to help her look into the mystery of her cousin’s murder. Ellie’s family is amazing (she loves her parents!! talks to her parents!!) and there’s such a motley of side characters who are interesting and strange and dynamic. And Kirby is THE BEST GHOST  DOG I WILL CRY tHIS ALWAYS.

So you know what?! Just read this.

It’s brilliant. The whole world felt fresh and different, catching my attention from the first page with its engaging writing and characters I just want to adore forever. (There are also little illustrations!!) It has heart-aching moments, and also funny humorous parts. The BEST combination.

Thanks Levine Querido Publishing for the eARC! Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger came out in August 25, 2020.

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.
There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.
Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon | Publisher

would you actually like to talk to ghosts or is that a pass? 👀and is this on your TBR, because it should be!!

 

Woven In Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez [#Ownvoices Bolivian Fantasy With Masked Vigilantes and Fake Queens!]

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This is the kind of fantasy that really enchants you!

It has fake queens, roguish vigilantes, and the absolute cutest magic sloths. It’s true!! There is a sloth made of magic here and for that reason alone you’ll want to read this!

I went in not knowing much about it, so here is my quick highlight reel of what you’re in for:

📖 #ownvoices Bolivian-inspired fantasy
📖 so much rich culture, so much love for details
📖 the absolute most delicious food descriptions you will up and try to gnaw your book pages
📖 the queen’s decoy is supposed to be demure and quiet and she pretty much is an explosion of electrical rage with a sword and she despises frills and can only be calmed if given fried food (relatable)
📖 sour healer boy whom I love
📖 lots of craft appreciation! magical weaving!
📖 trying to avoid marrying an evil king
📖 vigilante named El Lobo all dressed in black and dashing but whose side is he on
📖 unique and amazing magic system!!

“Everything always seems sweeter in the minutes before darkness descends.”

[the story it told]

Ximena has posed as the “fake Condesa” all her life, so when the queen is supposed to be married off to the enemy king to save their people, obviously Ximena goes in the real queen’s place. My favourite part was how Ximena is supposed to pretend to be the demure, sweet and friend-to-all-queen — when really she is such a wiry fireball. She’s like 1000% Gryffindor: impulsive, brash, passionate, prone to looking back at the destruction she caused and being like “oop”.

A lot of the story is set in the evil king’s palace, and it’s about Ximena making unlikely friends, spying for secrets, trying to save her people, and getting accidentally involved in the vigilante’s revolution. Her loyalties split: she’s spying for her people. But she’s also learning her people’s solution to the war maaaay not be as solid as they thought. I don’t typically love plots where it’s mostly palace settings — but I was so hooked here! I think it’s because I loved the characters! The dialogue, chemistry, and feels were all there and so so good. Plus we got delicious plot twists and darker moments to amp up tension.

The book also tackles colonisation and how blatant hate of a whole people group improves nothing. You can’t pretend to be better than the villains if you’re as cruel to them as they are to you.

I toooootally guessed the identity of El Lobo early though. AH. I am smort. 😂

[here for the characters]

We’ve established Ximena is the best: but also a huge reason I loved her is she has so much attitude but is never obnoxious. She has this careful and thoughtful arc — learning that she has to speak for herself, she has to think for herself, after a whole life of being taught what to do and who to pretend to be. (I also loved that the book balanced darkness and desperation with quips and bantery scenes perfectly!!)

I didn’t feel a huge connection to any of Ximena’s people (like Catalina, Sofia, Ana, etc.) but then, we didn’t spend a lot of time with them. However I LOVED all the other minor characters. And there were a lot but I still remembered them?! (My two braincells and I are SHOCKED and proud.) Juan Carols the friendly bubbly guard. Suyana the sharp maid. Rumi, the mouldy healer boy who is so sour but also secretly soft. 🥺 I adored him and shipped him and Ximena straight away. You know a ship is coming when the boy tells the girl to disarm herself and waits with a 😑 expression while she pulls out like…six knives.

[foodie fiction]

No surprise but I really LOVE foodie descriptions and this had so much Bolivian and Latina food, I just ahhh. I was googling things they described and just wanted to try it all. Also Ximena is like “make everything spicy and deep friend” and she is honestly a blessing. Also I want oranges dipped in chocolate?!??

Dressed in his usual black ensemble, he reminds me of the perfect night. The kind of night that makes you want to get lost somewhere. The kind of night that invites adventure and misbehaving.

This was a magical, sweeping story, rich in imagination and culture and heart. It definitely left me hungry for more!

 

Thanks so much to the author for the review copy! The grey edition comes from @FairyLoot! Woven In Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez was published January, 2020.

A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.
Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.
When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.
She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

tell me what fantasy books you’ve been loving recently? 👀 is this one on your tbr? does reading make YOU hungry? 😂

 

Chain Of Gold by Cassandra Clare [Super Hyped Book Is Here!!] + Giveaway

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There is so much I really admire about the Shadowhunter series.

And Cassandra Clare. 🥺💛 Having such a long-running series that spans centuries, with its own lore and histories and complex backstories — it’s all phenomenal and special. Plus these are fantasy books that actually have diverse rep, with queer and POC characters, which is how all fantasy books should be. Chain of Gold was a very hyped book for me. I mean, of course it was!! I’m so glad I had a chance to read it. Out of all the Shadowhunter books I’ve read so far, I think The Dark Artifices is my heart favourite. But I love just the concept of this world with  its mix of biblical lore, demons and angels and wicked and lovely creatures.

✨Also stop by my Instagram page to enter the INTL giveaway!✨

Things To Look Forward To In This Book

➢ new brand of maliciously wicked demon
➢ Edwardian England setting!
➢ James literally shouting, “I LOVE TEA” so yes we know they’re British.
➢ the utterly stunning concept of girls in ballgowns with swords
➢ delightful amount of accepted and loved queer rep
➢ mysteries unravelling about Tessa’s demon heritage
➢ dark magic
➢ who quickly heroes turn to villains and vice versa

“Though it is entirely bad form to appear unannounced at teatime. There simply won’t be enough cake for everybody. The girls will have cake and the boys nothing. There is no other fair way to do it.”

This new series feels like a love letter to all who really adored Will, Tess and Jem in The Infernal Devices series.

They don’t star here, but this is the series about the next generation, aka, their children! Will and Tessa’s kids are James and Lucie, two of the main characters. Then we have the kids of Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood, and of course more Fairchilds and Carstairs. There are…stacks of characters. 😂 And the Shadowhunter world in London feels oddly at peace, so the kids have grown up picnicking and going to school instead of in a warzone. It’s got a lot of historical-fiction flair too, where the women are proper and scandals are horrific and it’s all about “protect your family name” while most everyone suffers under invisible duties.

[characters]

I always accidentally fall in love with the secondary characters the most in Shadowhunter books! 😂 I did struggle telling all these characters apart, and couldn’t actually tell you which kid belonged to which family. I feel like all the character introductions were done in Ghosts of the Shadow Market, which I read but don’t remember much of? I expected CoG to flesh everyone out and make them dimensional and explosive (like TDA!!) but I hesitantly say I felt the characters stuck to their one descriptor and didn’t expand. Like Lucie was a dramatic novelist (relatable tho), James could step into hell realms, Matthew was a drunk, Alister was a misunderstood villain, Cordelia had a sword, etc. etc. And it was hard when the original TID gang named their kids all after each other…ahhh too man Jameses.

So as much as I wanted to love everyone, I felt James, Lucie, Cordelia, and Matthew weren’t very dynamic. I fell IN LOVE with Anna (the butch lesbian who were suits, seduced women, and was just exceptionally epic) and I wanted more Alister (the stressed secret gay) and I missed that Magnus wasn’t in it more! Jesse Blackthorn intrigued the heck out of me. I want more of him. These side-characters were so vivid, flawed, and troubled. My heart!

[the story it told]

I was super intrigued how this one was about demons attacking Shadowhunters, but specifically. It was all insidious and they uncovered a tricky plot. Maybe the ending felt easy, but I think that’s because there’s way WAY more coming. And I love the darkness behind the intentions.

“They need a muse,” said Anna. “Someone to be inspired by. Someone to know their secrets. Would you like to be a muse?”
“No,” said Cordelia. “I would like to be a hero.”

It’s always a delight to be back in the Shadowhunter world.

I think this one will totally delight fans of TID. The book is full of loving detail, and paints a sweeping and vast world that mixes magic with history. I love seeing series going strong and far. I think, as someone who didn’t really click with TID as much as TMI and TDA, I liked reading this but I’m secretly hanging out for Wicked Powers like nothing else. 😍

 

Thanks so much to Walker Books for the ARC! Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare is published March 3rd. 2020.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Walker Books

Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.
James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.

tell me your favourite shadowhunter series and characters!! do you have any long-running series you adore?

 

HavenFall by Sara Holland [Portal Fantasy Is Making a Comeback!]

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This is one of those fun, light fantasies that are so good to devour over a lazy weekend.

I’m noticing a lot of portal fantasy cropping up recently and I’m here for it. This also had such cozy feelings of home and family…plus, you know, monsters and multiverses threatening to catastrophe and magical conspiracy theories. All the good stuff.

things to look forward to in this book

➢ magical inn that’s the intersection of 4 worlds
➢ Maddie is queer! (Maybe bi?) and three other pivotal characters are gay too!
➢ lots of being attached to a building which is <3 <3 relatable
➢ monsters who just want to be left alone 🥺
➢ flamboyant old ladies who wear dramatic clothes and declare they’re writing a book (me in the future)
➢ SECRETS
➢ excellent magic system!!!
➢ Maddie going from “I want to run the family inn business!” to “I am stressed and can’t do math” within 2 days which is, quite frankly, relatable.

Havenfall might be dangerous, but I am equal to it. I’m part of it. I belong here, more than anywhere else.

[the world]

I think the premise of this book is the standout! It’s about this inn called Havenfall, which is where four worlds connect: Byrn, Fiordenkill, Solaria, and earth. Solaria has been blocked off because it’s full of monsters who murder people. But the other three are all buddy-buddies and at certain times of the year the inn is busting with people making trades and alliances and doing multiverse meetings. Maddie’s uncle runs the place, and it’s her dream to inherit it.

So of course, everything goes wrong. 😌 She has a lot of PTSD from her brother being murdered when they were kids. And this fated summer, the feared door of Solaria is cracked open. The book has one of those closed-house murder mysteries feels (like Westing Game) where everyone goes into lockdown while they figure out who the real culprit is. Just add a magical setting and magical people with other customs. Monsters are roaming. The staff keeps being eaten. Who is to blame. 👀

It also really reminded me of A Curse So Dark and Lonely and Every Heart a Doorway and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. So if you’re fond of those, you’ll probably click with this!

It also felt nicely like younger-YA? There’s murder and such, but it was all very off-page and just didn’t feel super dark at all.

[characters]

Maddie narrates and she’s pretty nice! She’s very stressed as a lot of the weight of the inn falls into her lap during this crisis (not her choice!). Her maybe-boyfriend vanishes and there’s a cute mysterious butch lesbian girl (we love Taya) and Maddie’s gay uncles are not in control anymore and ohhhh disaster. And can we talk about The Heiress?! Who literally goes by THE HEIRESS. She’s this enigmatic, flamboyant old lady who wears a cloak and is writing a mysterious book and just…I love her. Whole book about her thank you.

There’s also very little romance, which was refreshing.

I didn’t feel I got to really know the characters though. The book is short, the emphasis is on the plot and magic system. It’s set over a few days, so it’s mainly just rushing from event to event — which I felt was fine for what the book wanted to be. Although I felt Maddie didn’t get much of a personality.

This was a fun, light and lovely fantasy read, the kind you whip through and get engaged in trying to solve the mysteries! It’s crying for a sequel too, and I’m very intrigued to know what’ll happen next now that we’ve been slapped with some truth bombs and cliffhangers!

Thank you Bloomsbury for the review-copy! HavenFall by Sara Holland releases March 3rd, 2020.

Bloomsbury | Goodreads | Book Depository

Maddie loves spending summers at her uncle’s Inn at Havenfall. But the Inn is much more than a Maddie’s safe haven, and life in Havenfall isn’t without its secrets. Beneath the beautiful, sprawling manor in Colorado lie hidden gateways to other worlds, some long-sealed by ancient magic.
When a body is found on the grounds, the volatile peace brokered between these worlds is irrevocably compromised. What’s worse is that Maddie’s friend Brekken stands accused of the murder. With everything she loves at stake, Maddie must confront shocking truths about the dangers lurking beneath Havenfall – and discover who she really is.

do you like portal-fantasies?! (when you jump from our world to another?) would you visit another world if you had a chance? and is this one on your TBR?

 

A Heart So Fierce And Broken (#2) by Brigid Kemmerer [Time To Get Your Heart Hurt!]

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A Heart So Fierce And Broken is here to leave you reeling.

This book wrung me through at least thirty seven emotions. At first, it left me unsure (the storyline wasn’t what I expected and had developments that hurt my heart) but though my initial gut-reaction was frustration…the more I read and slowed down and thought about the story, the more I appreciated what it was doing. The last 200 pages? Perfection.

spoilers apply if you haven’t read book 1; but no spoilers for this book!

📖 Review of A Curse So Dark And Lonely (Book 1)

And underneath it all, so tiny that I almost don’t acknowledge it, a kernel of pride that instead of magic bringing fear and torment, the way Lilith did, or pain and death, the way my sword would, my magic brought healing and trust, and that is not a small thing at all.

[the story]

This is Grey’s story. I didn’t know it wouldn’t feature Harper and Rhen as much! They get a chapter each, but mostly the book is split between Grey and Lia Mara (the spare heir from Syhl Shallow). It follows Grey on the run and Lia Mara warring with her feelings of being unwanted as her ruthless mother grooms her youngest daughter for vicious power and everyone treats Lia Mara like…a royal sack of potatoes. The story has a lot of the good ol’ fantasy things you expect: roadtrips, unlikely allies, trips to prison, a sort of fighting pit, spot of torture, sword practising, a royal ball, people yelling. It’s focused on politics and travel. (I did miss book one’s focus on like…monsters and torture and Harper shouting at people.)

At first I did struggle 😭 But then I also couldn’t put it down. And I keep thinking about it — which is what I love books to do to me.

[the characters]

I’d utterly DIE FOR GREY. He is such a Hufflepuff, so doggedly stupidly loyal, but in this book he’s panicked, stretched to the limit, betrayed and cornered into becoming a leader when he’s always just followed. (ARAGORN VIBES.) He’s realising magic can be good, not just evil. He’s realising brothers can be evil, not just good. He’s broken, then rebuilt. I really really loved his whole arc!

We also meet Tycho (the utterly adorably loyal kid who would also die for Grey; you and me both, Tycho!!) and Iisak (a sort of monster creature who I loved just because he’s a monster creature) and there is a lot more Jake and Noah content too! Jake tries to drown Grey at one point and they bond. It’s really lovely. Bless.

And Lia Mara? At the beginning her chapters were ones I wanted to skip 😂 but by the end I loved her! Introducing new characters mid-way to a series is hard, but I enjoyed her realisation that she was MORE than a sack of potatoes. You go Lia Mara.

[my feels]

Wow, I had many feels. My attention waned at the beginning’s slowness, but by the end I was hooked. Grey and his storyline was captivating, his love and pain so visceral. I was intrigued by the budding magic system. But mostly? I loved how the book dismantled the toxic ideas behind “strength”. It put an arrow through the heart of the idea that women need to be pure viciousness to be “strong” and that men need to be unyielding and cold to be “strong”. It also pointed neon arrows towards the fact that FEAR MAKES PEOPLE MONSTERS. And I’m loving the deft way it handled that.

90% of the characters in this book are motivated by fear. It leaves us with a lot to mull over.

Downside was, because we weren’t in Rhen and Harper’s head…so their plot line felt frustratingly insipid. Rhen makes some unforgivable decisions, but not seeing his POV makes him a flat out villain. However, (1) I think book 3 will explain further, and (2)…I think that’s what the book wanted to do.

Open for SPOILERS
SOME SPOILER THOUGHTS!!

  • The only thing I’m disappointed in is that: HARPER STAYED WITH RHEN. She should’ve left the moment he had Grey whipped, because he turned into a toxic abusive royal, and there was no justifying it.
  • Also, I was disappointed that Harper’s really only action in this book was running up to men and expressing concern. Like, Harper. Punch someone?
  • I GET why Rhen is being cast as a villain, and by the end it makes sense. This is a villain origin story, and we GOT his side in book 1. I think we’re meant to feel betrayed and hurt, furious and wounded by Rhen. We call for villain stories (like The Darkling!) so here we’ve got one. It left me sour and so so betrayed, that I wasn’t loving the book — until I stopped and thought about how well the topic was being handled. Rhen is ruled by fear of magic, and has PTSD, and he’s never never known how to relate to people. He proved that all through book 1 where he couldn’t befriend Harper and he couldn’t be more than Grey’s master. It’s so toxic, and it’s obvious he’ll take this entitled road (dictatorship nearly), alienating people and being corralled by fear to use cruelty to rule. It interests me immensely (when I got over being butt hurt LOLOL). So I hate Rhen, I do. I think we’re supposed to.
  • I wonder if Rhen will get redeemed.
  • But okay also? I freaking HATE Grey’s atittude to Rhen. His loyalty is stupid, because Rhen hasn’t given him a single token of ANYTHING other than “I am master, you are dog” the entire time. Grey’s dedication to oaths was so infuriating (I think that was the point). But Grey?!?! You know what? Oaths are just misspelled oats and they mEAN NOTHING WHEN THEY’RE MORALLY BANKRUPT. Rhen has never never never done a thing for Grey in his life.
  • I mean, u hit my son Tycho and there is no going back.

“Ah, yes, the most dangerous person at the party is always the girl sitting alone with a book.”

Honestly this was an emotional roller coaster, packed full of intrigue and betrayals and heartache. The title fits SO WELL after you’ve read it. I just want Grey to be okay and for someone to find out why Tycho is hurting and make everything better for him forever. Also I need more monsters!!! Hoping for more monsters in book 3!!!

Thanks to Bloomsbury AUS for the review-copy! A Heart So Fierce And Broken (#2) by Brigid Kemmerer releases in January 2020.

Find the heir, win the crown.
The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.
Win the crown, save the kingdom.
Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

Bloomsbury | Goodreads | Book Depository

have you read this series yet?? what do you think!! do you like when sequels have new POV characters?

 

Nevertell by Katharine Orton [Russian Fairytales, Bitter and Frosty and Beautiful!]

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This was such a fantastically icy magical adventure!

I really loved how it tangled historical fiction and Russian fairytales together — it was full of snow and ice and dubious sorceresses (which I loved because that gave me Narnia throwbacks…I grew up with the audiobooks on repeat!). So I just really enjoyed gobbling up this middle-grade magical fantasy this afternoon. Also that cover? Can we just say entirely gorgeous.😍

[story]

It follows Lina and her best friend Bogdan who are in a Russian concentration camp, planning an escape that goes terribly wrong. They end up having to run from their fellow-escapee companions, who want them dead because there’s not enough food, and the two best friends end up meeting a strange lady in the woods who turns bad men into ghost wolves. She’s fearsome, mysterious, and…jaded. Meet Svetlana: probably a sorceress and probably dangerous. They can’t trust her…or is there more to her story than the tricky magic and anger she presents?

It has some dark undertones, especially with the concentration camp, but it definitely keep things on the lighter side for the kids 😭💛I also appreciated how it discussed the abuse of power, how bad people can say “nice things” but how it’s manipulative and wrong. It’s really good to start talking to kids about that.

The magical part was GORGEOUS. Lina slowly discovers she has powers! We also: (a) meet the cutest ever little spirit, (b) everyone eats a lot of bad bread and frozen onions, (c) there’s a magical cloak and (d) Lina is quick-thinking and Bogdan makes maps and it’s just so terrifically FRIGID AND COLD. The chill fairly seeps off the pages.

Imagining tends to give people inconvenient ideas, and those with power don’t like to be inconvenienced.

[characters]

Oh Lina was amazing! She was a total mix between spicy and determined, but also kind and gentle. Like NO WAY was anyone going to be harmed if Lina was there. Bogdan tagged along loyally and they meet a few epic people along the way too!

Also MAGIC. Magic everywhere. Frosty and intricate and lovely.

A beautiful read! (Although!!! Feed these kids!! I was so hungry on their behalf 🥺)

Thanks Walker Books for the review-copy! It came out November, 2019!

A gorgeous, snowy adventure, set in the wilds of Siberia, full of magic and wonder, for junior readers.
Born in a Soviet prison camp, Lina has never seen the world outside until the night she escapes with her best friend, Bogdan. As the pair journey across a snowy wilderness, they are pursued by a vengeful sorceress and her pack of shadow wolves. The children will need every ounce of courage – and a whisper of magic – if they are to survive…

Goodreads | Book Depository | Walker Books

| WHAT DO YOU THINK? |

tell me your favourite Russian books!! and do you read much middle-grade? is this one on your TBR?

 

Queen of Nothing by Holly Black (The Most Stressful And Brilliant Faerie Finale!!)

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Oh this was deliciously and wickedly exquisite.

Look, let me tell you how desperate I was to read this book. SO DESPERATE. For the first time in my life, I was in a bookstore ON release day to BUY A BOOK. This never happens to me because (1) I usually live in tiny towns without bookstores who stock new releases, (2) I prefer to buy things online anyway…less humans. But, okay I really hate being spoiled for these and apparently tons of bookstores in the USA put Queen of Nothing out early because I was seeing ti everywhere on instagram and pining away to my death.😫But I got it!!!! They had to unpack it from out back for me though. Smh. People, it’s: 9:30am why is it not on the shelves.

But it was so so perfect. It was thoroughly everything I wanted.

All spoilers in this review will be hidden!

Although I don’t recommend reading on if you haven’t read The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. 😚

“By you, I am forever undone.”

I AM SO EXHAUSTED RIGHT NOW. I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN. I was so anxious waiting for it. I read it in a single afternoon. ANXIOUS. CLENCHED JAW.

For me the whole book was: Surprising. Captivating. Twisty. Phenomenal.

It’s easy to go into finales with intolerably high expectations, with this idea already set in concrete in our minds, of what the author has to do to make it “a perfect finale”. I’m trying to shake myself out of that habit, honestly. It ends up with me not loving books too much. I wanted to enjoy what Holly Black envisioned for the finale. 😍And YES I still had things I wanted — I really wanted it to be clever and brutal, dark, but also satisfying. I didn’t want a tragic ending okay?!?! I am sOFT. I needed hope.

And gah it gave me everything I wanted. We got the Jude and Cardan moments, this extraordinarily crafted arc for Cardan where we both see and understand why he is the cruel prince — and then we see how he isn’t shallow. The tricks, the lies, the encouragement that made him this way. I also don’t ever feel the book pardoned him for it? Cardan was wicked, and he paid for it. But when he was kind, he reaped those benefits too. When people yell about Cardan/Jude being toxic — I want to say YES IT IS BUT SEE HOW IT IS AN EXPLORATION OF DEALING WITH THAT. There is no happiness or resolution or resignation for the toxicity. It is dismantled, and I just am over here — clenches fist — relieved and impressed.

Also the plot is just packed with both lovely domestic moments (me: cheering every time Jude gets a freaking nap) and wicked ploys and plots, wrangled mind games, and the most SHOCKING PLOT TWISTS. It isn’t heavily like “battle” action featured, but the series has never been. I like how it kept with the theme of espionage and bargains.

High stakes and fates in peril. Stress was at maximum level of SUFFERING. Gah, I freaking adored this. Wicked fae and poisonous beauty and monstrous loves are just all my brand of favourites in books. I am starry eyed, content, and invigorated right now. All I ask for in a series finale. 😌👌🏻

 

✨SPOILER SECTION✨

open for finale SPOILERS

This is just going to be me yelling about things that made my heart EXPLODE. 😍

  • Cardan just absolutely throwing EVERYTHING and saying how much he loves loves loves Jude and he doesn’t care if it’s not mutual, he loves her. And I’m like, yes that’s ok, I’m sobbing. You’re fine.
  • SNAKE!CARDAN!!!!!!!! holy shit I did not see that coming and it was terrible and wondrous.
  • I felt like Jude would kill him?! I panicked she might trap him, but she killed him and it was perfect and he came back and yes yes yes. I can’t say how satisfying and perfectly circular this was. Excellence to the highest degree. 😍
  • Jude’s level of scheming and rising from being beaten down so so many times was perfect.
  • MADOC NEARLY CUT HER IN HALF.
  • I totally adore Grima Mog??? Stan her being made general.
  • Okay Taryn. I have to forgive her I guess, but I spent the whole book waiting for her to backstab Jude again. 🙄But she turned out good so I GUESSSSS I have to forgive her. I’m glad she’s having Locke’s baby and was a bit 0_0 Locke died off page. Basically Cardan’s entire posse from book 1 is being slowly murdered by Duartes and okay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • LOVED the costumes. Gah. Freaking divine. All the descriptions just had me heart-eyes.
  • It was just satisfying, heart-wrenching, gave me all the feels with the snatches of romance scenes and vulnerabilities, and had perfect pacing and dashes of humour.
  • perfect book is perfect
  • eventually I will stop screaming but ahhhhhhhhhhh

“We have lived in our armour for so long, you and I. And now I am not sure if either of us knows how to remove it.”
“Is this another riddle?” I ask. “And if I answer it, will you go back to kissing me?”
“If that’s what you want.”

He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.
Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…

Goodreads | Book Depository

“Mortals are fragile,” I say.
“Not you,” he says in a way that sounds a little like a lament. “You never break.”
Which is ridiculous, as hurt as I am. I feel like a constellation of wounds, held together with string and stubbornness. Still, I like hearing it. I like everything he’s saying all too well.
That boy is your weakness.

what did you think of the finale?! 😍 tell me if you get nervous for excited for finales! do you read them straight away or procrastinate a bit?

 

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??