Thank you to Random House and Delacorte Press for providing a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!
One-Sentence Summary:
Two girls attend a university previously shut down for decades due to unsolved and supernatural murders while struggling to maintain their sanity in spite of accusations and mystery thrown around the campus.
My Review:
The first thing I did when I finished this book was send a picture of the cover to my goth sister. This book truly had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the suspense and the romance, and crazy sapphics dealing with demonic possession and evil alter egos are my favorite thing. I loved Alice and Lottie’s grappling with female rage in a male-dominated system, but also them just trying to safely live their lives. The supernatural elements were delightfully mysterious and creepy, which was just in time for spooky season. My one gripe is just that I kind of wanted more buildup for the big twists at the end. I didn’t guess them, but mostly because the focus was elsewhere for much of the novel. The imagery was incredibly immersive nearly to the point of disgust, but I was on the edge of my seat. This was the kind of book I had to post about right after I read it to keep the thoughts fresh (although this review is a bit after that). It’s so hard to describe TSFSG because of how different it was, and it really made me want to explore suspense and horror more even though I wouldn’t always call it that.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would totally recommend it for those who like somewhat unhinged love stories, lots of creepy college, and a tinge of possession and Jekyll and Hyde. I couldn’t put this down!
Thank you to Del Rey Books for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
One-Sentence Summary:
Emily Wilde returns to contemplate her future and explore an Austrian village, her companion’s potential to rule a faerie realm she has yet to find. and the mysterious disappearance of a fellow scholar from years before.
My Review:
Oh. My. God. I really loved the first Emily Wilde book for what it made me feel on a random Sunday morning, but I honestly enjoyed this one even more. First up, let’s talk about some characters as I wax poetic in multiple parts of this review about how the perspective influences everything and my undying appreciation for it. I wouldn’t say there are as many relevant background characters in Map as there were Encyclopaedia, but the side characters that are important really shine. We had Professor Rose, an accusatory professor working with Emily and Wendell begrudgingly while trying to prove their lack of credibility, and Ariadne, Emily’s niece and an aspiring academic hoping to assist her. Even though Emily doesn’t dedicate as much attention to either of them as she does her studies (and Wendell), Fawcett still fleshes out both well. Rose is able to endear himself to the reader more than I expected, and Ariadne is understood much more by our narrator by the end of the novel. In terms of Emily and Wendell, there was much of the same in a way I loved. Emily, while acknowledging others around her more post-Scandinavian adventure, keeps her textbook reservedness and research-oriented mind. Wendell has his bouts of sloth and rage, as he did in book one, but he also has the same softer side for Emily and ambition. I didn’t feel blindsided by any of their traits or actions, which is always a fear with sequels. I think I’ve mostly touched on interpersonal relationships there, but I also admire how the romance in this book panned out. There was just enough to satisfy me, instantly enamored with the romantic aspect since book one, but not so much that I wouldn’t recommend it to friends who like less romantic fantasy novels. The focus is, as always, the research and mystery. For plot, I’m once again going to talk about how much I love the style of writing too. We have a clear catalyst for this piece of the arc and our journey to Austria, and by the end, there’s a perfect balance of finality and actions yet to come. There is, again, more of what book one started, both in terms of the incomplete storyline about Wendell’s throne and the great transitions from mystery to mystery to plot point that align well with Emily’s own thoughts and priorities. One of my favorite things about this series is what a readable fantasy it is in the sense that I can space out for a moment on one page and still understand the next. It’s a quality whose rarity sort of turned me away from adult fantasy this year, but I really loved how simultaneously academic and welcoming the tone of this one was. Overall, I’d recommend this to lovers of all sorts of doorways in the fantasy genre. As a fan of epic fantasy and heist fantasies, I was never bored, and even though I don’t love mysteries as much, the academic mysteries in this installment had me on the edge of my seat. I’m talking this book up so much, but I’ve done the exact same thing in the messages of all of my reader friends. I’m so happy I was able to get an early copy of this and physically cannot wait for book three!!!
Presumably based on the Awakening movie, this is the novelization of a new Miraculous plot from the show.
My Thoughts:
I'm wondering how accurate to the movie this is, because the way this book is written is really interesting! First of all, Marinette actually knows Master Fu at the age of six, and Hawk Moth knows from the beginning that he has the miraculous. Marinette is aged up two years from the show, and Emilie was actually under a curse, not in a coma out of sickness from the broken peacock miraculous. There are also a lot of differences within first meetings and the like. Adrien freely goes to school with approval from his father, but he's actually held completely separate from the other students in the library. Marinette meets him there, not when he's trying to get gum off of her seat, and instead of hatred, they both immediately like each other (which is low key annoying). The first villain is sort of like Stoneheart, but not actually Stoneheart, just another gargoyle-like akuma. There really isn't much hesitation or failure like in the Stoneheart episodes, which I found both annoying and refreshing? Marinette finds out Adrien's identity pretty fast because Hawk Moth (still Gabriel Agreste) actually finds out oddly soon, so there's less Angst. I liked that there was a cute masquerade and all, but I didn't love the direction it took away from the TV show, especially if this is how the movie will go. As a book, let's talk about it! This was very fast-paced and not incredibly written, but that's not unexpected considering this is in fact a chapter book about Miraculous. Whoops. I actually really liked it for what it was, though. We got some great Miraculous content, and I liked the dynamic of Adrien and Marinette. I was expecting something a little bit more juvenile, so I was pleasantly surprised when there was more relationship stuff and plot, despite how quick it was. This book did make me veeeery cautious about the movie and the future quality of the movie if this is how they changed the plot, but I liked the book itself. Will I read more Miraculous books? Probably not, and if so, it'll be fanfic, but I would recommend this to people who want early insight about the movie and a closer perspective of the characters.
Disclaimer: I am not a middle grade reviewer, I am simply someone too old (not by too much) to watch Miraculous who still does.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley, but I also fought in the TRENCHES for this at NYCC 2022 and that must be acknowledged.
Synopsis:
Lady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She’s young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin—embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family—often forget Gemma exists.
Worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong.
Then she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan d’Astier. His family destroyed themselves, seduced by a demon, and Talan, the only survivor, is determined to redeem their honor. Intrigued and enchanted, Gemma proposes a bargain: She’ll help Talan navigate high society if he helps her destroy the Basks. According to popular legend, a demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families’ blood feud—slay the demon, end the feud.
But attacks on the Middlemist are increasing. The plot against the Basks quickly spirals out of control. And something immense and terrifying is awakening in Gemma, drawing her inexorably toward Talan and an all-consuming passion that could destroy her—or show her the true strength of her power at last.
My Review:
First things first, I don’t think this book is for everyone. That goes for both triggers and writing, to be honest. I really liked this book, but I can’t really say if that’s due to my unconditional love for Claire Legrand and everything she writes or the actual craft of it. It didn’t meet my (frankly unreasonable) expectations, but I did truly enjoy ACOIAG and its writing and characters. Now onto the actual meat of the review! To begin with, I had mixed thoughts on the characters most of the time. I often didn’t like their personalities or occasional naivete, but I did like how they were developed and how they interacted with one another, which I’ve always considered a strength of Legrand’s. One of my favorite aspects of this was the similarities between these new characters and her old ones. A lot of this that I saw was more in dynamics, but I loved that some traits were much like that of characters from the Empirium Trilogy, but I still didn’t find them insanely predictable. Next up, relationships of all sorts. First of all, I do think that this is one of those fantasy romance books where it’s both fantasy and romance, but it leans so heavily on the romance in the beginning that you get frustrated that there isn’t enough fantasy. The novel starts off with a huge, world-changing event with the Middlemist, but for the first half, all Gemma ever thinks about is Talan and occasionally her social status. I wished it was more fantasy there, but it definitely leans into the heavier aspects later. In terms of Talan and Gemma, I actually really liked them, but not /all/ the time. They’re that couple where you need them to see straight, but you absolutely appreciate their acceptance of one another regardless. Even when I’m wary of a Legrand character, I always love how much respect and affection they show to those close to them. The friendships later in this book were really when the relationships shone for me. I don’t want to spoil, but we met some characters that I really loved, and they were so amazing to one another. Lastly(ish), plot and world-building. I didn’t find the world the most digestible, but I was on page with the plot and world until like the last few chapters. Otherwise, there was a lot of great content. Was it the fastest? Not really. I pride myself on fast, one-sitting reading, and that didn’t really pan out here. However, I didn’t think the book was tremendously hurt by it. The world was so rich, and I loved the complexity of the demons and politics and greenways and the like. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. Every book Legrand writes feels new even with their similarities, and that’s why I’d say those who only like the Empirium Trilogy should stay away. It wasn’t the perfection I wanted or even that similar to its comp titles, but I loved it and can’t wait for book two!
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.
My Review:
I was actually expecting this book to be much less readable than it was for some reason, which goes to show even more than her other books that I shouldn’t underestimate Rebecca Ross. I loved A River Enchanted and its sequel, and, although I liked Divine Rivals less, I enjoyed it too. First, characters. I don’t have much to say on this front, but mostly just because I don’t have objections. I liked the side characters, I liked the main characters, and I felt a little less disconnected from them than i did when reading A River Enchanted. Were they better? Not really, but I got a bit more invested on that front. With relationships, I thought the friendships were a bit underdeveloped, and the main romance seemed a little quick to me, but I saw a lot of chemistry and liked Roman and Iris together a lot. They just really fit! I will say I wasn’t expecting some elements, but it’s normal for the time period the book is based on. Finally, for plot and worldbuilding, I got confused about the war a lot, but frankly, I’m used to being confused about war in fantasy novels, so I’ll give it a pass. It did seem a bit underdetailed in that regard, but not to a hurtful point. The plot very much went by piece by piece, not necessarily having That One Climax for me, but I liked it. I feel like my words make it sound like a 3-star based on my recent reviews, but I really liked Divine Rivals. I’m not sure I have quite enough enthusiasm to read a sequel, but Rebecca Ross is so productive I’m sure I won’t have to wait long. I’d recommend this to fans of her other books and of YA fantasy romance as a whole with classic romcom elements and a serious spin on them.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Fierce Reads for providing this book as a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Synopsis:
When misfortune strikes, the “reformed” jewel thief Vanja manipulates a remote village for help and in turn, accidentally starts a cult around a Low God, the Scarlet Maiden. Soon after, her nemesis-turned-suitor Emeric and a supervising prefect arrive to investigate the claim of godhood, and she realizes how in over her head she must be. But the Scarlet Maiden does reveal herself . . . only to claim Emeric as her virgin sacrifice. Desperate to save the only man she’s ever cared for, Vanja decides to seek an alternative: bring the Scarlet Maiden a drop of blood from each of seven brothers for the midsummer feast.
While the thief and prefect-in-training still have feelings for one another, Emeric must determine whether Vanja has committed fraud as his final test for prefect-hood. And as they travel the Haarzlands, a harsh land far from the rules of the city, the past that Vanja barely remembers comes into full view and she fears a future that does not require her to keep running.
With vengeful apparitions, supernatural fraud, and ravenous hellhounds, readers will not be able to put down this Bavarian-themed YA fantasy, the thrilling sequel to Little Thieves.
My Review:
Do I even need to say Margaret Owen has done it again? Little Thieves was amazing, and Painted Devils is no different. Owen perfectly executes fantasy comedy romance in the best way possible, and I’ll be following this trilogy to the very end. I adore Vanja and Emeric so much… On that note, first, characters! There are a LOT, which made it hard to keep track of some, but I still loved it. Our new main or main side characters are Helga, Kirkling, Jakob, Vikram, and more, and they’re all great, but especially Helga. Don’t be fooled, though, we have cameos from a couple iconic Little Thieves side characters. I very clearly don’t have any gripes with Owen in this category. She did an amazing job developing Emeric and Vanja too, and I loved them even more if that’s possible. Next, relationships and romance! No spoilers, but Vanja definitely had some complex relationships in this one with her romance with Emeric and the other things she has to deal with. Owen continuously surpassed expectations, and I loved seeing Vanja and Emeric’s relationship develop in spite of the pressure they were under. Additionally, Vanja’s own personal journey had a lot to do with other people this time around, and again, the execution was great. In other words, Margaret Owen cannot do wrong with these characters. I was laughing and dying inside the whole time. Lastly, plot and world-building! There was definitely a lot going on in this book, especially since Little Thieves & Co. are like heist novels where small things get repeatedly stolen but everything is insane and piled up. However, it was actually pretty easy to sit back and enjoy the genius, and most of the time I got exactly what everyone was doing. I did get a twist early on, but it wasn’t really one where I wasn’t SUPPOSED to get it. The ending twist sort of caught me off guard, but I definitely got the reasoning (and I could’ve been talking about either twist there). Some of the world-building was a bit confusing, but just in a “we didn’t get a ton of other magic information in book one so now it’s here” way, not in a bad one. Overall, I really loved and enjoyed this book. I’ve been looking forward to it since Margaret Owen posted her insane AITA version of the plot summary on Twitter for a trend, and it did not disappoint. I NEED that third Vanja book.
Thank you to Simon Teen for providing this book as a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.
Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, Rook minds less and less.
But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.
My Review:
Like the other book I’ve read by F.T. Lukens, I found this book fun and sweet at times, but not my favorite ever. First, characters. I really loved both Sun and Rook, but the other characters were great too. My overall fave was Antonia because she was simultaneously amazing and horrible. I didn’t see a whole lot of depth in anyone, but it didn’t keep me from enjoyment. Next, relationships. Sun and Rook were really sweet, but I also loved the friendships and familial elements, primarily the tentative relationship between Fable and Antonia. I thought they were all really fun. Finally, worldbuilding and plot. There wasn’t a lot going on for those, but there was some buildup and, ultimately, execution. Was it intricate, complex, or perfect? Nah, but I enjoyed myself. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but not more than most others. I liked a lot of elements, I just didn’t find them super compelling. I’d still recommend this to fans of casual fantasy or shorter, lighter YA.
Thank you to Orbit Books for providing this book as a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.
Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.
Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.
But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.
My Review:
I have very mixed feelings on this, which is apparently unpopular. This is the story of Lore, a Mortem wielder who can manipulate death magic to revive and kill living things. After being sold out by a mother figure she worked for, Lore had to spy for the king on the wayward prince, but the clergyman by her side is also attractive. First of all, characters. Was this perfect? Nah. I liked it, but it was also super annoying. I would say the most annoying bits were the repetition of minor details about appearances and pasts. It felt repetitive for no specific reason, like they were trying to provide a detail that was just vague. However, it didn’t completely ruin my enjoyment. I liked them overall, and the side characters were great. I didn’t see a lot of dimension, though. Next, romance. There’s a love triangle here, but I didn’t love it. Both relationships felt kind of weak. It entertained me, but I either see viability or chemistry, not both. The friendships were sweet, but nothing got too much development besides Anton being Gabe’s father figure and boss. Lastly, plot and worldbuilding. It wasn’t bad, but it felt a little lacking. I got the mild politics, I got the magic, but I wish there was a tad more. The plot seemed very simple, but not unenjoyable. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this for people super similar to me, but probably people that like similar things with different inner preferences. I liked the book, and I could see myself reading the sequel, but I didn’t love it.
Roz, a rebel and disciple, tries to solve a murder alongside her ex and the man responsible for her father’s death, Damian.
My Thoughts:
I'm sort of torn with this book because I liked it, but I didn't LOVE it. To give a bit of summary, this book is about Roz, a rebel and disciple of Patience who has magic, and Damian, the captain of the guard and son of one of the most powerful men in their world who killed Roz's father after he deserted. This follows them working together to solve magic murders despite their romantic past that turned sour after Damian's father's actions. First up, characters. One thing I'll say is that no one really stood out to me. I liked them, but there was no character where I was so consistently obsessed with them that it's worth mentioning. The side characters were fun, but I think there were too many on either side (Damian's and Roz's) and not enough time spent with them to actually like them very much. I didn't love the romance the whole time, but I did like it overall. Personally, I wouldn't have chosen to be together after all of that, but Damian and Roz had a lot of chemistry and great moments. It seemed like there was a constant reason to be together, but I am glad they waited. Lastly, plot. This was the part I found most disappointing to be honest. I wanted to be shocked, but I guessed the killer the first time I really read their name. Not even joking. I did question it, but I was like "oh I bet it's them" and it was. I found myself getting really annoyed with all of the other guesses simply because it was just that obvious "I bet it's this person because they're evil!" with little critical thought. I didn't actually think it was horrendous or anything, and it wasn't truly hindering my enjoyment, but it was worth noting. I would probably recommend this to people who like fantasy murder mysteries, but I don't think either aspect was phenomenal. I definitely disagree with the Leigh Bardugo comparison just because it feels so different from a Bardugo book, but I'd agree with Kerri Maniscalco. This is worth reading, but not amazing.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review!
One Sentence Summary:
In this sequel to A River Enchanted, Jack and Adaira must reunite to save Candence from the faerie Bane and internal conflict.
My Review:
Rebecca Ross’s A River Enchanted Duology is truly amazing. This is the sequel to A River Enchanted, a Scottish-inspired fantasy novel about magic, music, and the elements.
Our characters in this novel are awesome. Obviously I love Jack and Adaira, but also Torin and Sidra!! I’ve probably said this in my review of the first book, but this is a rare instance of me actually liking main characters more than side characters. These people are all just so interesting, and I found myself just flying through the POVs with everyone, even more so than in the first novel. That’s info for the paragraph about writing, but I think it’s relevant that the characters are all so compelling and deep that you want to read more no matter who’s narrating. That’s all I really have to say here!
The romance in these books is immaculate. One thing about A Fire Endless is that all of the main characters are actually already in stable and permanent relationships. There are outside factors straining them (distance, power, magic, etc.), but there’s also a comfort in knowing there’s no romantic turmoil. I do think I like Jack and Adaira’s relationship more than Torin and Sidra’s as we got to see it develop from an earlier point, but both are crammed with mutual respect and love for both the other person and those they love. Lastly, plot and writing and worldbuilding! I still think everything about the writing of this series is astounding. It creates the perfect balance of suspense, worldbuilding, feelings, and more. I don’t have a single negative thing to say. As I said above, this book flows INCREDIBLY well, even better than the first book in the series. READ IT.
This book is definitely a sequel that lives up to the standard of book one. It’s great for those who want a tame adult fantasy or even a bridge between YA and adult that isn’t NA, more of an intro adult. It’s the perfect combo of intricate and readable to the point where you can see how much energy has gone in, but the reader doesn’t need nearly that much work to understand it. I can’t recommend this duology enough!
The Fiction Feature 