The Fiction Feature

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske – ARC Review

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing a digital galley of this book in exchange for an honest review!

One-Sentence Summary:

After being assigned a job he’s certainly not qualified for involving magic, Robin must work with his new coworker to solve the mystery of his disappearing predecessor.

My Review:

ALL THE STARS. EVERY STAR EVER. Historical fantasy in London with secret societies and LGBTQ+ rep? Sign me the hell up. Robin and Edwin were absolutely amazing characters with so much development and I loved how they evolved over the story. Robin had the best relationships with everyone, whether it was Edwin or his sister, Maud. He’s also the creator of the single most romantic line I’ve ever read. Meanwhile, Edwin is also so amazing. He’s closed off and prickly, but mostly because of how he’s been treated for years because of his magic and studies.
This book was entirely unpredictable in the best way possible. I found out it would be in a subscription box a few days before I got approved for this ARC and I am SO glad I’m getting a physical copy!!!
If I had to pick on one thing, it would only be that I found certain parts hard to follow. Not confusing per se, but I’m a fast reader and sometimes miss a couple of sentences, and in this book, a couple sentences could completely change my understanding.
Basically, READ THE BOOK! It’s gay, has magicians, secret societies, and British people insulting one another.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen – ARC Review!

Thank you so much to YALLWEST and Fierce Reads for sending me this ARC as a giveaway prize!

One-Sentence Summary:

The goddaughter of Death and Fortune must fend off the authorities and a curse while trying to both right her wrongs and maintain the life she stole.

My Review:

I completely underestimated this book. I was so sure that it was going to be worth reading but not amazing, but I LOVED it.
First of all, Vanja is very chaotic and opinionated in a somewhat cliche way. Normally, this bothers me a bit, but she’s amazing. She’s smart, doesn’t take ANYONE’S sh*t, and she sticks up for herself. I am totally in love with her. She’s simultaneously horrible and amazing and it’s great.
Emeric motherf*cking Conrad, y’all. The other love of my life. He’s??? Just???? So???? Sweet???? Like I guess I have a new top three book boyfriend and I’m not mad about it. Again, smart, caring, and his relationship with Vanja is moderately healthy and very much adorable.
This is very reminiscent of Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin, but I like it MUCH better. The fact that Lou was a thief who didn’t pull off a single heist was annoying, but this was a thief/law enforcement romance that was amazing and actually included copious amounts of crime and deception.
Lastly, the SUPPORTING MAIN CHARACTERS OMG. I loved every single one of them, even the lesser ones like Barthl. Ragne is probably my favorite besides Emeric and Vanja, but I also love Giselle and the others so much.
Most of what I liked was character and plot based, but there’s also a great world in place and I find it amusing that Death and Fortune raised a kid and are having a high stakes yet tame custody battle for the entire book. READ THIS BOOK.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone – ARC Review

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and YALLWEST for providing this book as a digital galley as a giveaway prize.

One-Sentence Summary:

Let’s grapples with the Underworld when her brother is recruited to help fend off a spreading blight at the manor of a lord.

My Review:

I thought this book was okay, but really nothing SPECIAL. Did I like it? Absolutely. But everything just felt like it was mimicking what was proven to be popular. I know that’s how a lot of books are, but it just felt like I was reading some overhyped book and it isn’t even out yet.
Overall, it was a great book thought. The magic system was really unspecific with the alchemists and I don’t know WHY they’re called alchemists, but it was fun to read about. There were a lot of nice friendships and creepy vibes, which I’m always down for. The romance also did develop well, but again, it felt like a cliche. I had a lot of fun reading this book, it just wasn’t very special.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles – ARC Review

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Summary:

Jack and Kallia navigate unknown perils and trials in a secret world as the others attempt to find them before their inevitable demise.

My Review:

I love this duology so much. The first book was actually my first ARC ever, and that holds so much value to me.
I thought this sequel was amazing. It was so different from the first book, but also so similar. There were so many changes made, from setting to even the characterization of some characters, but it still largely made sense.
I did think everything was a bit hard to follow. It was impossible to figure out whose story to trust, but not in a fun, unpredictable way, just in a “please tell me so I’m not confused” way. I also thought there was a decent bit that was pretty predictable, but only close to the beginning.
I really loved all of the new magic showcased and all of the new, complex characters. I don’t really want a spin-off novel for anyone just yet (I’m not a fan of those), but I was so committed to everyone’s story. I feel like it wouldn’t be hard to tell who my favorite character is now given that she’s amazing (a new performer). Angeles also always does a beautiful job with magic, and also CLOTHING. I love it when authors take a moment to detail every outfit, and Janella Angeles is amazing at this.  (Angeles said there were more Hadestown vibes in this installment too and I totally agree)
Overall, this was just such a satisfying sequel. It was a bit hard to keep track of, but a beautiful and satisfying conclusion to this duology!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

One-Sentence Summary:

After two years of near-silence, Poppy asks her friend Alex to accompany her on a final trip reminiscent of those they took every summer before their falling out.

My Review:

Am I a fan of friends to lovers? No. Here’s why: I almost always think that the lovers would be better off if they stayed friends. I definitely started out that way in People We Meet on Vacation, Poppy and Alex have an amazing friendship, but I warmed up to the idea of them quickly.

I’m going to start straight off with one of my least favorite things about a book ever: Alex Nilsen’s puppy face. Why on earth a 30-year-old man needed to make a puppy face upwards of ten times throughout an adult romance novel is beyond me. I probably took off a star just for this disaster.

Otherwise I never really had any strong feelings on the book. It was mediocre, I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. My mother, however, did hate it, but that’s not really relevant to my opinion. It was a fine read, I read it in about two hours, but I wouldn’t really recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Brown Sisters: A Recommendation

I’ve come to realize recently that I am actually quite taken with romance novels. Previously, I figured that they were pointless and romance was best as a plot point in a high fantasy novel to be explored in depth but never take over the main plot. However, I read like six romance novels in a week and now I love them.

Three of these books were the phenomenal Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert. I had held off for a while because something about an adult romance with an illustrated cover scared me off, but damn.

The trilogy follows three Black, plus size sisters in their journeys to find lasting romance, starting with the oldest, Chloe, then Dani, then Eve. They all also have other bits of representation: Chloe deals with chronic pain, Dani is bisexual, and Eve’s is a bit more of a mystery for most of the book so I won’t share.

I mainly read the series because I wanted to get to Dani’s book because as I might’ve mentioned on this blog before, I’m kind of in love with the fake dating trope. However, I fell in love with all three books immediately and they’re definitely new favorites. Really quickly, here are my star ratings for them:

Get a Life, Chloe Brown: 4⭐️

Take a Hint, Dani Brown: 4.75⭐️

Act Your Age, Eve Brown: 5⭐️

Some other stats:

Favorite Book: Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Favorite Sister: Dani

Favorite Love Interest: Zaf

(I do love Chloe, she just seemed so much more stable than the other two and I love chaos.)

These books are stories of healthy, wholesome romance where romance complements the characters and doesn’t “complete” them, which I love. The characters never have to change for someone else, they find love interests who love them for who they are.

Basically, I’m fully in love with this series. I read each of the books in a total of a few hours, and I have no regrets.

READ THE BROWN SISTERS TRILOGY BY TALIA HIBBERT FOR HEALTHY ROMANCE AND POSITIVE REPRESENTATION!!!

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao – ARC Review

Thank you for Penguin Teen and NetGalley for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Summary:

Wu Zetian’s successful revenge plot results in higher stakes than she imagined in this sci-fi book inspired by Chinese history.

My Review:

Oh. My. Gosh.
HOW DO YOU GIVE A BOOK MORE THAN FIVE STARS???
First of all, unlikeable female protagonist alert. I’ve never really understood that term though: Zetian is extremely murderous and I LOVE her for it. This entire book is taking down the patriarchy, but, like, literally, she murders a bunch of people. Like. That’s how it’s done. Also, Iron Widow has got to be the coolest title ever, for the book and for Zetian.
Obviously there was a lot of sexism in this book since it’s kind of half of the point, but Zetian is never portrayed as weak, even when she relies on other people. Shoutout to the author for “resolving” the love triangle how she did, I was not prepared to make a choice (the characters are poly, you can read more about the author’s decisions about that in her Goodreads review).
This book is inspired by Chinese history, which I’m not qualified to talk about, but it’s also a sci-fi/fantasy, which I’m quite familiar with. There was really complex, consistent world-building, and this might be the first sci-fi I haven’t been confused by in,,, too long.
I truly don’t know if this’ll be my favorite book of 2021, but it’s worth reading and all of you should!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Oaths of Legacy by Emily Skrutskie – ARC Review

Thank you to Del Rey Books and NetGalley for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Summary:

In the sequel to Bonds of Brass, Gal attempts to escape the clutches of his former friend and lover to support his own empire.

My Review:

First, I would like to say that Wen is under-appreciated. I also think that BONDS did a horrible job characterizing her: she’s a sixteen-year-old badass and yet they treat her like a wayward thirteen-year-old. She was definitely more important in OATHS, which was nice.
What really bugged me was Gal. This book is in his POV and he’s totally still my favorite, but his thoughts didn’t correlate with his actions very well; if you’re loyal to your empire, STOP HELPING THE ARCHONS. Also, he was totally amazing and super manipulative and nobody listened to him??? That bothered me a lot because he made valid points and Ettian was very “follow your heart.”
Despite that, there was very little romance and they weren’t even in close proximity a lot. I wanted a lot of mutual pining, and that wasn’t really it.
Anyways, I did really love this book. The ending totally got me by surprise, and I really hope I get an ARC of book three!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

One-Sentence Summary:

Bloodmage Rovan has to adapt to life with those who ruined her life in the past and grapple with romantic struggles and the undead.

My Review:

This book blew away my expectations. First of all, there’s so much queer representation. There’s an asexual nonbinary character, the main character is pansexual, and one of her love interests is a lesbian. There’s also a m/f/f polyamourous relationship. This society is mostly queer-normative, the only issues are exaggerated gender roles for nobility.

Let’s also acknowledge how awesome Rovan is! She’s insanely chaotic, very straightforward, and extremely motivated. She’ll never give up when she’s working towards a goal, which I love. Her arc is so amazing given that she will pay any price to get revenge. Rovan is so driven, but also really determined to find friendship and companionship and form positive relationships.

I obviously also love Japha (my favorite obviously), Lydea (name twins except mine is spelled Lydia), and Ivrilos (honestly I just love sassy ghosts and exasperated guards so he’s the best). The magic in this book was also executed so well, I love sigil and incantation-oriented magic, and the concept of bloodlines to be passed down containing sigils was so cool!

Basically, I love this book. If you liked the blood magic and monster stuff of Emily Duncan’s books but hate the fact that they used anti-Semitic concepts and made fun of un-agented authors, you should definitely try In the Ravenous Dark, which is also worlds better in general.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte

One-Sentence Summary:

In a dystopian world, Tempe struggles to find her parents and save her newly resurrected sister from the authorities.

My Review:

The first thing I can say about this book is that it’s really inventive. It’s sort of a dystopian setting where people can be brought back to life after 24 hours by loved ones to settle unfinished business, which isn’t a concept I’ve seen before. The main characters were all pretty likable and I felt like I could root for them.

One thing that I liked was that it sort of chose when to follow different typical endings. Like “oh yes here we have the sacrifice plot but it definitely doesn’t end here!” was a really common one. This made it hard to keep track of in the last fifty pages, but it kept it from being OVERLY predictable.
Arguably one of my favorite parts was that there’s aromantic representation!!! I didn’t love that the character in question was already dead (the main character’s sister), but she obviously knew before she died. I did feel like the romance that was in the book was lacking, though. Lor and Tempe really didn’t seem to have a lot of chemistry to me, but their love was supposed to be important.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this book, but it’s an inventive dystopian that’s worth a read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5