The Fiction Feature

A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

One-Sentence Summary:

Four queer teens unite to track down a killer targeting ironborn fae.

My Review:

I expected to like this book, but it was really amazing.

The characters had a lot of depth and the author really nailed interpersonal relationships. At some points, it was terrifying, but at others, it was hilarious. This was the kind of book that I texted my friends about endlessly.

The world is extremely inventive for an urban fantasy, and I like it much better than City of Bones, which it’s been compared to. My favorite character was probably Nausicaä or Vehan and they were both wonderfully sarcastic and likable.

One thing I loved was that even though there were interludes from the villain’s POV and you knew who he was, there was still an element of mystery. In terms of the powers of the heroes, I thought they were all amazing, but I especially loved the die from the troll, which I can’t describe further since it’s a spoiler.

Essentially, READ THIS BOOK!!! It’s got loads of representation, including a background character who uses neopronouns. It’s got a great magic system and the author managed to be creative with the world even though it takes place in Canada. I would say that fans of The Mortal Instruments would like it, but I liked it better than The Mortal Instruments.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

The Jasmine Throne – ARC Review

One-Sentence Summary:

A rebel, lady-in-waiting, and princess fight against an oppressive empire and a spreading magic sickness.

My Review:

Did I like this book? Absolutely. Did it feel much longer than it was? Yes.
So overall, I liked what was going on. We had some clear worldbuilding, cool characters and well-developed backstories and relationships, etc. There was a lot of struggle, but none of it seemed to drag down the plot. I actually kept track of who was who and around 75% of what was going on even though usually I can account for maybe 50% (Publishers, that’s a joke I swear I’m qualified),
The one issue I had was how slow this book seemed to go. I can’t tell what made it take so long for me to read, maybe it was the amount of different POVs, but I read 300 pages of another book in an afternoon and barely got through 20 of this one. I liked reading it, but it took a while.
Overall I’d totally recommend this book as a well-written adult fantasy with a lot of magic and some rebellion and political intrigue.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Fence: Disarmed by Sarah Rees Brennan

One–Sentence Summary:

In the sequel to Striking Distance, Kings Row goes to France to train at a prestigious fencing camp alongside rivals.

My Review:

Oh. My. Gosh.

I’ve been waiting for Disarmed for months and it did not disappoint.

First of all, characters!!! They were all arguably my favorite part of the book, which is fun since I wasn’t a big Nicholas fan to start with and usually I don’t like new characters. In Disarmed there were a million new people, like Melodie, Bastien, Marcel, and more, and I loved all of them! Additionally, there was more of Jesse, Bobby, and Dante, which I’m always up for.

There was also more character development! To be slightly vague, Seiji started to take social cues a bit (and his dad does NOT know what’s going on), Nicholas learned more, Harvard became more assertive, and Aiden cared for people other than Harvard!!! I was honestly so proud of all of the boys, this book was so adorable.

Now, for the opposite of adorable, ANGST. Y’all. We got PLENTY in Disarmed. People who get too many texts from me know that one of my many wishes for Disarmed (most of which came true) was for Aiden to be mean to Harvard and for Harvard to reciprocate. I felt like it was really important that they realized the other was far from perfect and that there was some new element to a twelve-year friendship. I’m really glad we got to see at least a bit of that, but I can’t say too much since the book literally came out yesterday.

There were only a couple negatives in my opinion and they were just that I had a couple wishes that weren’t fulfilled. I really wanted to see more of Aiden interacting with his almost-stepmother Rosina, but that didn’t happen. I also wanted an Aiden/Harvard match ending in a very angry confession of feelings, but that also didn’t happen. Lastly, I just wanted some Kally and Tanner content. They weren’t terribly important in the comics, but I really would’ve liked to see them at some point in the traditional book series.

Overall, I loved Disarmed!!! I’m so proud of all of the characters in their development and loved every second of their journeys at Camp Menton. Fans of Striking Distance and the comics will love Disarmed if they read it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“Shadow & Bone” on Netflix – My Thoughts

Hello, all! I haven’t been posting as many reviews lately, but I wanted to give my opinions on the “Shadow & Bone” TV show taking the book world by storm.

For those of you who don’t know, “Shadow and Bone” is the miniseries on Netflix adapted from Shadow & Bone and Six of Crows, or the Grishaverse, by Leigh Bardugo. I’ve been a fan of the universe for years, so I thought I’d share my opinions on some of the changes that were made.

Because of the nature of this post, there might be a couple of spoilers ahead.

1. The Six of Crows Prequel Stories

Since Shadow and Bone takes place years before Six of Crows, the stories about Six of Crows characters in the TV show are prequels to what happens in the novels that are exclusively about them. One Crow doesn’t appear at all in the show, Wylan, and Nina and Matthias are very much secondary to the others, despite their story being the only one canon in the novels. In the show, Kaz, Inej, and Jesper are hired to kidnap Alina Starkov, the Sun Summoner, and deliver her to someone from Ketterdam for one million kruge.

What bothered me about this was that there are legitimate things going on in the lives of the Crows in the books. Nina’s story was the same, but for the three kidnapping Alina, it just doesn’t make sense. It also doesn’t make sense at all for Alina’s story, which we’ll touch on in the future.

Also, Kaz’s development was too early for me. He admits he’s been wrong, compliments others, and doesn’t seem as emotionally constipated as usual. That’s the kind of progress that he makes in Crooked Kingdom, and it just seemed like it definitely wasn’t meant to be made in a prequel.

2. Ages

An issue with many YA adaptations is that characters are aged up, which results in a different maturity level and sometimes more potential red flags. For example, most of the main characters are 16-18 in the books, but all of them look to be in their early twenties or very late teens now.

There are a couple issues that I had because of this, the first and most important being the romance between Alina and the Darkling. It just looked problematic. In the books, even thought the Darkling is hundreds of years old, he looks 17 like Alina, but in the show? Ben Barnes is almost 40 and Jessie Mei Li is 25. This makes for a romance that’s more than a little creepy (which it is supposed to be), but the show also focuses in on it more and romanticizes it.

The second age-related issue was the Crows. Between the age-ups and the timeline change with the prequel, it was just nowhere near canon. By the books, Jesper would probably be arriving at university, Inej would be in her early Menagerie days, and Kaz would have just gotten out of his final time in jail. I loved everything that happened in the prequel plot, but part of the reason why the Crows are so impressive and emotionally mature is because of their young ages and yet so many experiences, and I felt like having them in their late teens to early twenties before the Ice Court heist really took away from that.

3. The World

There were just a lot of small changes made to the world that I didn’t love. Not because they were horrible, but just because it seemed like attempts to make the show more adult. Amplifiers were embedded in the body, human amplifiers were only stories so Grisha testing involved sudden pain instead, etc. They weren’t bad changes, they just caught me off guard.

The Positive:

1. Milo.

That’s it, that’s the positive. Kidding, I loved a million aspects of the show, but Milo? Easily my favorite. Simply put, Milo is an emotional support goat. Kaz collects him, giving us a wonderful moment of Kaz holding a baby goat, and Jesper hugs him when he needs to calm down, and he’s Jesper’s best friend from then on. Milo is amazing and the best part of the series by far.

2. Archie Renaux’s Mal

Simply put, I despise Malyen Oretsev. However, I have never despised Archie Renaux, and he did an amazing job as Mal. Mal might be one of the single most unpopular characters I’ve ever seen, but Archie Renaux made him more respectable, likable, and overall better. I am become a Mal stan. 😂

3. Nina and Matthias

Theirs was the only completely accurate storyline, which I really appreciated. They had so much chemistry and I loved seeing their emotions for one another evolve. Their story is one of my favorite parts of Six of Crows, so I loved seeing it translated so loyally into the show.

4. Ivan and Fedyor

Even though Ivan was horrible, I loved the little glimpses of his relationship with Nice Guy Fedyor. Ivan’s unflinching commitment to the Darkling was intimidating, but the “sunshine/grumpy” dynamic with Fedyor humanized him a lot.

As characters, I also just really loved the two. Fedyor’s search for Nina and Ivan’s general terrifyingness were so great.

5. The Crows

Alright, so first of all, I don’t know why they needed to change the Dregs to the Crows and eliminate Per Haskel to make Kaz the leader, but everyone seems to be ignoring that so I will too?

Anyways, THE CROWS. Kanej was amazing, and even though some of the emotional development struck me as a little fast, they were AMAZING. Jesper is absolutely hilarious, especially in his interactions with Milo, and he’s easily my favorite part. Seeing Inej be such a badass was also so cool.

I love Six of Crows a million times as much as Shadow & Bone, and I really didn’t believe when they said 50/50 between the two, but it actually was, which was awesome!

6. Alina Being a Badass [Spoilers]

Damn. Just damn. Her going from pining after Mal to the tension with Kirigan to just being amazing on her own was so good. She definitely seemed to go to the dark side more than in the book, which I loved.

So those are some of my basic thoughts! I absolutely loved the show, but not a new favorite (7-8/10)! I absolutely need a season two immediately.

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein – ARC Review

Thank you to Wednesday Books and YALLSTAYHOME for providing this book as an uncorrected bound manuscript.

This might be the single most negative and longest review I’ve written ever.

One-Sentence Summary:

Gracie tries to navigate life at her school after defending a new student changes everything.

My Review:

*sigh* Okay, let’s do this.
Hello, actual teen here, and I’m here to talk about SLINGSHOT.

The story opens with Gracie, the main character, crying in the bathroom. Why, you ask? Because her 30+-year-old science teacher doesn’t reciprocate her love. SHE IS 15 YEARS OLD. “Oh, just an innocent crush,” you say, but it is not. She yells at him and his fiancée and genuinely hates him because he isn’t in love with his underage student. People. It gets worse.
Throughout the story, there’s a senior student who essentially mentors her. I forgot her name because I read this book a few months ago, sorry! She frequently gives TERRIBLE, extremely questionable advice and gives Gracie terrible habits and Gracie practically worships her! An example of said habits and advice? Well, first of all she introduces Gracie to smoking, which is obviously a personal choice that is entirely up to the individual, but Gracie is also 15. An even worse example, the girl encourages Gracie to seduce the biology teacher! I’m not going into details because her idea is clearly horrible, and Gracie doesn’t go through with it, but I’m appalled that this book is supposed to be a wonderful tale of first love when it’s so problematic and terrible.
Gracie is the queen of bad choices. She constantly has those thoughts of, “I’m a terrible person,” like most characters, but seriously. Gracie treats her “best friends” horribly, and when her so-called-best-friend leaves for break, she has sex with a senior who:
1. Is three years older and a legal adult.
2. Has literally bullied her best friend/boyfriend.
It’s also implied that the bully been sleeping with other students for a few years at least and never been with a virgin before, so let’s not even talk about how concerning that is when you think about it for more than a few seconds.

Everybody is so casual about EVERYTHING in SLINGSHOT and it bothered me so much. This is that book that just makes you really uncomfortable, especially as a teen who has friends the same age as if not older than Gracie. I only finished it because I needed to review it and I was curious if it could somehow get worse. It did. Please, spare yourself and avoid this book. I really don’t get why it’s being praised when it has so many issues.

⭐️/5.

Prince’s Gambit by C.S. Pacat

One-Sentence Summary:

In the sequel to Captive Prince, Laurent and Damen travel to the border while trying to foil assassination attempts and frequent attacks.

My Review:

First of all, the improvement from CaPri to this is astonishing. My main takeaway from the book is that the first one sucks even more than I thought since it had potential and still ended up only as exposition! Anyways, BACK TO PRINCE’S GAMBIT:

Prince’s Gambit was much stronger than Captive Prince in romance and other plot, and there was much less to be angry about. I actually started to like Laurent a bit when reading book two; in Captive Prince he seemed callous and condoned a lot of slaves getting r*ped, but in Prince’s Gambit, he showed so much more emotion and depth. The first book was like “here’s a guy you’re going to HATE” and the second was “hey lol remember him? He has FEELINGS now.” I haven’t forgiven him, but I’m intrigued.

While reading Prince’s Gambit, I was constantly wondering why on earth Captive Prince even existed. I get that it was necessary to make Laurent more of a mystery and introduce the whole ✨situation✨, but it just made me angry. Prince’s Gambit had more of a focus on other characters, and my least favorite character got impaled. It still had the same problems as CaPri, but not nearly as bad.

Basically, avoid Captive Prince at all costs, but if you already read and hated it, KEEP GOING. I guarantee you that Prince’s Gambit isn’t as bad.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5.

Announcement: First Riders!

Hello, all! I just wanted to let all of you know that I joined a street team.

I’m now part of the First Riders (2.0), the street team for Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto! Crown of Feathers is a high fantasy novel about Veronyka, an animage, and her struggles becoming a Phoenix Rider after her sister’s betrayal and the loss of her phoenix. Alternatively, there’s Tristan, the Phoenix Rider Commander’s son, trying to prove himself to the Riders and his father, and Sev, a soldier and animage trying to hide his powers and help a rebellion.

I absolutely love this series, and I’m so excited to be on the team! My reviews of Crown of Feathers and Heart of Flames are earlier on this blog, so go find them. I can’t recommend this series enough!

Go to my Instagram, @thefictionfeature, and the First Riders Instagram, @first_riders, for more!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

One-Sentence Summary:

Cartographer Alina Starkov is pulled into a cutthroat world of magic and luxury after revealing her unique powers, the only Sun Summoner, to the Darkling, a powerful man with powers opposite hers.

My Review:

I reread Shadow and Bone recently to refresh my memory for the TV show.

I really love this series. The magic, worldbuilding, culture, relationships, it’s all amazing. I don’t like Alina and Mal, but everyone else is incredible and well-developed (so are Alina and Mal, I just find them annoying).

My favorite character is Genya. She’s amazing, simultaneously cold and caring. I would pay for a series just about her.

If I were to pick on one thing, it would be Alina and Mal. Even though they’re main characters, I couldn’t bring myself to root for them or approve of their relationship. Did I ship it? Sure, but Mal was so annoying and couldn’t accept that Alina had changed. Despite caring for her, he actually hurt her a lot. Still hate Darklina though, that’s even more toxic.

Shadow & Bone is an amazing book, especially for people who want to watch what I hear is an amazing adaptation (April 23rd, 2021).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

TW: Rape, sexual slavery, sexual abuse, drug use, aphrodisiacs, torture.

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD

One-Sentence Summary:

Betrayed by his brother, Damen, prince of Akielos, is forced into slavery serving Laurent, the prince of enemy country Vere.

My Review:

Most people who read this book go in knowing what to expect: a lot of graphic r*pe and sex slavery. I read the book anyways, thinking “it can’t be that bad.” It was.

So one thing you need to know about this book is how controversial it is. Many people hate it and everything it stands for (I’m one of them), but some actually love the book and claim it’s incredibly misunderstood.

Throughout the book, Damen, the main character, is frequently mistreated by the love interest, Laurent. Laurent sends Damen into a fighting ring to be publicly r*ped, pays someone to try to whip him to death, and more. I wouldn’t say the book romanticizes sex slavery like a lot of people have said, but it’s definitely horrible. I was absolutely disgusted with the treatment of a lot of characters.

I actually didn’t hate the writing or world of the book besides the slavery. It was well-done, just overshadowed by the horrifying nature of the rest of the book.

I’m reading the sequel now, and there’s much more concrete plot and less r*pe, but how anyone could give the first book above three stars is beyond me, and three is generous.

⭐️💫/5.

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

One-Sentence Summary:

After getting captured during an infiltration attempt, Cassa, Evander, Alys, and Newt are caught between a centuries-old executioner and his escape, and the most powerful man in the city wishing him dead.

My Review:

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK.

First of all, ALYS!!!! I’m dedicating a special portion of this review to her because of how amazing she is. She’s Evander’s older sister and basically the only sensible one in the crew (Newt is too caught up in Evander’s smile). Alys is also ace and has anxiety, which I loved to see because of how it was portrayed. A lot of characters in books are seen as less because they don’t have a love interest, and I could name maybe four asexual characters at all, so seeing such a powerful female character with no love interest or interest in one? Beautiful and valid💕 Alys also had anxiety as I said before, and seeing her overcome struggles to become even more powerful and help the others too? Again, incredible. ALYS IS A QUEEN.

I have to compliment the worldbuilding in this book. There are essentially four magic abilities and a separate trade: sentient (seeing someone’s past), rook (taking and giving memories), diviner (seeing the near future in objects), and seer (long term prophecies). The additional ability is only for those who are bloodbonded, usually to a metal, and it means they can control that material. Even though most of these took me a little while to remember, they weren’t confusing at all, but they had so many applications!

I also loved that in this book the rebellion was over and it was primarily personal. Despite it being a staple in fantasy, I’ve never been a fan of the rebellion against a corrupt government. Cassa’s parents were the leaders of the rebellion, but by the time Beneath the Citadel begins, the rebellion is over and the rebels have been executed.

If I had to pick at one thing it this book, it would just be Evander and Newt’s similarity to Jesper and Wylan of Six of Crows. However, there are only so many roles on a heist crew, I just didn’t like that Evander was basically Jesper.

I would absolutely recommend this book to those who like heist books and LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy (ace rep!!!!!), but it must be known that this is more of a mission than a heist, and one that will certainly end in murder.

Anyways, I love this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5