August Book Haul

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I kinda have a little bit of a problem. No matter how hard I try, I can never buy just one book. Even if I go onto a website thinking "I'm only buying the book I came here for", I can't do it. One book becomes two, which then becomes at least four. With that being said. I went a little crazy last week and bought a bunch of books. Now, much like a dragon, I want to pour over my haul and excitedly try to decide what I should read.

The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan || Genre: Fantasy || Amazon / Bookshop

Blurb: The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Winter has stopped the war--almost--yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he? In the Heart of the Stone lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn.

Why I Want to Read It: I'm making my way through the Wheel of Time series, so it only makes sense that I bought the third book after I finished the second one. I'm excited to see where this story goes.

Batman The City of Owls by Scott Snyder || Genre: Comics || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: For over a century, the Court of Owls has ruled Gotham City in secret—their reach inescapable, their power unstoppable.

Until they battled the Batman.

Gotham's vigilante protector managed to escape the talons of the Court with his mind and body barely intact. The Dark Knight managed to win the battle with his deadly new aggressors, but certainly not the war. Batman was just the first part of their conquest. Now they have their sights set on something much bigger: Gotham City.


Why I Want to Read It: Let's be honest. Who couldn't use more Batman in their life?

The Shadows by Alex North || Genre: Thriller || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.

Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.

It's not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.

It wasn't just the murder.

It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...

Why I Want to Read It: I've been trying to get more into thrillers. A friend of mine who loves thrillers really recommended this author and I thought I might as well give his work a try.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan || Genre: Fantasy || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.


Why I Want to Read It: First of all, the cover is beautiful. Second, the blurb has me hooked and I want to know more.

Endless Apocalypse Short Stories || Genre: Science Fiction || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: Stories of the end of civilized life have always fascinated us, from the mythological world endings, Armageddon to Ragnorok, to the flood stories of across the Ancient world. They make us wonder what we would do if all around us came to an end: no transport, no fuel, no communications: a retreat into the desperation, the onslaught of disease, how would we survive?

Why I Want to Read It: This might be weird, but I like stories about the end of the world. Reading different authors' takes on the end of the world, and what might come after, has always appealed to me.

T-Rex Trying by Hugh Murphy || Genre: Humor || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: Poor T-Rex. It’s hard to be the Lizard King when you can’t even change a light bulb.

Drawn from Hugh Murphy’s wildly popular Tumblr feed of the same name, T-Rex Trying depicts the stubby-armed tyrant in a range of hilarious—yet pathos-inducing—activities that we humans take for granted.


Why I Want to Read It: This just looks cute and funny. Sometimes, I need a break from serious, hard-hitting things.

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks || Genre: Fantasy || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.


Why I Want to Read It: The Lightbringer series has been on my list for a while. When I saw that it was on sale, I took that as a sign that I should buy it now and start reading the series.

A Girl Called Ari by P.J. Sky || Genre: Science Fiction || Amazon

Blurb: In a distant future… A world divided… A walled city in a devastated wasteland…

For Starla, a struggle for power becomes a struggle to survive when she finds herself on the wrong side of the wall. Lost in the wasteland, she faces warring factions, bloodthirsty creatures, and the endless burning sun. And then there’s Ari… who is she really? And can she trust this girl from the wasteland to lead her back to the city gates?

One thing’s for sure, Starla’s once privileged life will never be the same.


Why I Want to Read It: The premise sounds interesting. I've also been trying to read more science fiction recently and this book called to me for some reason.

The Orphanage of Gods by Helena Coggan || Genre: Fantasy || Amazon // Bookshop

Blurb: Twenty years ago, the humans came for their gods.

In the bloody revolution, gods were all but wiped out. Ever since, the children they left behind have been imprisoned in an orphanage, watched day and night by the ruthless Guard. Any who show signs of divine power vanish from their beds in the night, all knowledge of their existence denied.

No one has ever escaped the orphanage.

Until now.

Seventeen-year-old Hero is finally free - but at a terrible price. Her sister has been captured by the Guard and is being held in a prison in the northern sea. Hero desperately wants to get her back, and to escape the murderous Guardsmen hunting her down. But not all the gods are dead, and the ones waiting for Hero in the north have their own plans for her - ones that will change the world forever...

As she advances further and further into the unknown, Hero will need to decide: how far is she willing to go to do what needs to be done?

Why I Want to Read It: It's hard to beat a premise like "humans have deposed the gods". Adding in the other aspects of the plot shown in the blurb, I just couldn't resist.

Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them? Are there any books you recently purchased that you'd recommend?

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Sea Witch

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Sea Witch is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Sarah Henning. It’s the first book in the Sea Witch series. The novel is a retelling of The Little Mermaid. It can be purchased here from Amazon or here from Bookshop.org

The novel follows a teenager named Evie, an outcast in her small fishing town. Since the death of her best friend Anna, she’s been overcome by guilt. After her other friend, Crown Prince Niklas, nearly drowns, she spots a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appear on the shore. The girls befriend one another, but her new friend harbors secrets of her own. In order to help her new friend stay, Evie must make a sacrifice and the price is higher than she ever could’ve imagined.

The novel has four characters worth discussing: Evie, Niklas, Annamette, the girl Evie meets early on in the story who reminds her of Anna, and Iker, Niklas’s cousin. Evie is the main character and narrator. She begins the story as an outcast in her village, both because she’s seen as unworthly of Nik’s friendship, since she’s a fisherman’s daughter, and because many blame her for Anna’s death by drowning a few years before the story starts. She also hides the fact that she’s a witch from the unaccepting town. Her arc is about finding her place in the village and coming to terms with Anna’s death. Annamette is the mysterious stranger who comes to the village, looking remarkably like Anna, with a secret. Her characterization, unfortunately, wasn’t consistent throughout the novel. The way she’s written for the first half to two-thirds of the book doesn’t make sense with the way she’s written in the last third. There was potential for the two very different sides of her to work, but the character the reader is first introduced to isn’t given enough depth or nuance to make such a change work well. Niklas and Iker are the love interests for Annamette and Evie respectively. I can’t really say much about either of them, because they are pretty much the same character, with Iker being slightly more skeptical of Annamette and her story. While I did enjoy these characters, I wouldn’t say that this book has especially strong characters or character work.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style. She did an excellent job of setting a scene and keeping my attention focused on what was happening. The story itself feels very atmospheric and during the course of reading, I could see how deeply infused the sea was within the story. The inclusion of so much from Danish history was appreciated and gave the story a feeling of being more grounded in reality. I chose to read this book because I wanted to read a book about mermaids, and this book delivered. I enjoyed the mermaids, the magic and how it all fit together in the narrative. The conclusion was by far my favorite part of the novel. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the overall pacing of this book, the ending really tied all of the elements together and fulfilled what the author set out to create with this story. As mentioned above, this novel is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but this isn’t Ariel’s story, it’s Ursula’s. Henning did a spectacular job of creating a compelling and believable villain origin story. Also, and this one is the least important aspect of this review, the cover art is gorgeous and I want to see more by this artist.

While I enjoyed the writing itself and the ending of the novel, there are a few criticisms that I have. My biggest issue with this book is the pacing. The plot moves incredibly slowly for the first two-thirds. There’s a lot of focus on the culture and traditions of Evie’s village and discussing maritime practices, which wasn’t very interesting to me and I ended up skimming those parts to get back to the main plot. There are flashbacks to Anna’s death, spread throughout the book, focusing on a few different characters and their actions on that day. While I don’t have an issue with flashbacks, some of them felt unnecessary. The last criticism I have is in regards to foreshadowing. The novel’s antagonist isn’t shown to have ulterior motives or even that they can’t be trusted until very close to the end of the story. If there had been some suspicious behavior, or moments that stuck with me as odd, then the reveal would’ve worked better. As it stands, the antagonist’s goal, when compared to their actions before the “big reveal”, don’t fit together the way that they should. As a result, the plot overall isn’t as coherent as it could’ve been.

Sea Witch was not quite the book I was expecting it to be. I enjoyed the magic and the writing itself, but the pacing and some of the characterization didn’t quite work for me. As a villain origin story, this is good one, not great, but not terrible. The conclusion is by far the strongest part of the novel overall, and I wish the author had taken more risks earlier on to match the excitement of the climax. I haven’t decided if I will read the second book in the series yet. If anyone is thinking of reading this novel, I would recommend it, but caution that it’s not quite the story they think it is.

Rating: 3.4 Stars

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Before The Broken Star

Before the Broken Star is a 2019 young adult science fiction novel by Emily R. King. The novel was published by Skyscape and is the first book in The Evermore Chronicles. The novel is a fusion of steampunk and fantasy.

Before the Broken Star follows Everley Donovan, the sole survivor of her family's slaughter. She's been living on borrowed time due to a clockwork heart and seeks to avenge her family by killing Killian Markham, her family's murderer, before her time runs out. Her quest for vengeance leads her to a penal colony on the far side of the world. On the island, family secrets are buried and Everley finds her destiny is entangled with Markham's redemption, as the man may not be who he seems.

This book was somewhat of a mixed bag for me. I love a good revenge story and the ideas mentioned in the blurb were intriguing. This book references folk lore and in-universe myths frequently, and I enjoyed reading those myths and stories. There's an idea of there being seven distinct worlds and reading the snippets about each world was interesting to me. The science enthusiast in me enjoyed the steampunk parts of the story, mainly focused on Everley's artificial heart. I enjoyed piecing together the truth about what happened to Everley's family.  Descriptions of the environment really captured my imagination and I liked reading about the land and wonder of the island Everley wound up on. The action scenes were also somewhat enjoyable. King created a very interesting "hook" for the second novel in the series.

While I enjoyed the aspects mentioned above, if I were to make a pro-con list about this novel, there would be more cons than pros. The characterization is fairly inconsistent. This applies to everyone from Everley herself, to Jamison, the man she's forced to marry, to Markham, the villain of the story. People's behaviors and motives seemed to change at the drop of a hat.  None of the characters are relatable or easy for the reader to connect with. Very little in the story surprised me, because it's hard for someone to act "out of character" when they don't have consistent characterization. The plot of the novel is rather weak. Characters move from one plot point to another solely as the result of someone saying they need to do a certain thing or go to a certain place. Aside from Markham, none of the characters seem to have any agency. The revenge story itself gets sidelined for quite a bit in place of a generic quest.

The two biggest flaws with Before the Broken Star are pacing and the inability to build tension. The pacing for this novel is kind of all over the place. Everley sailing to the island seems to take up just as much of the book as the quest she's forced to go on with Markham. The journey itself doesn't seem to have any kind of urgency involved in it and it feels like it takes ages for anything exciting or important to the plot to happen. Some key revelations in the story take place too early to be satisfying. Later in the story, those same revelations could've been okay plot twists, but they happened too early and didn't really add anything to the story at that point. The ending also felt weird and contrived, with a last minute "gotcha" moment to set up the second book. As for stakes, there was a chance to make the ending of this novel very high-stakes. The reader is told very early on that Everley's heart will give out eventually and could give out at any moment. Unfortunately, the author didn't use this set-up as an opportunity to raise the stakes within the story, so the fact that Everley's heart could give out seemed like a missed opportunity and bringing so much attention to it felt odd. This book felt a lot like a novel that wasn't sure what it was supposed to be.

Before the Broken Star didn't really impress me. The ideas were there and the author had plenty of opportunity to create an interesting story, but failed to deliver. The novel suffered from poor pacing and not really knowing what it wanted to be about. The author has a very unique style and knows how to create a scene, but struggles to weave together a compelling plot. I don't think I'll be reading the second novel in the series.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

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The Unblessed Child

The Unblessed Child is a 2020 young adult fantasy novel by R.J. Kaldanis. It was self-published by the author in February of 2020. It is the author’s debut novel and the first book in The Blessed Chronicles. I was provided with an advanced copy of the novel by Netgalley for review purposes.

The novel takes place in a world where there are two types of people, the blessed, who can wield one of the four elements, and the unblessed, who cannot. The novel follows Aardriyah, an unblessed girl who has been raised to believe she’s unwanted and unimportant, compared to her siblings. Shortly before she turns 19, she begins having strange, vivid nightmares of beasts and worlds beyond what anyone could imagine. She soon finds herself being hunted by a mysterious figure with powers she’s never seen before. To uncover the truth about her dreams, Aardriyah goes on a journey that will change not only herself, but has implications for the world at large.

The Unblessed Child has a whole cast of characters, but there are only about four or five that I feel are so vital that I need to mention in this review. First, Aardriyah, our main character. She’s had to learn to be strong and self-sufficient after being looked down on her whole life for being unblessed and having red-hair, which is hated by the citizens of the island where she was raised. Then, there’s Chastion, her older brother who was adopted into the royal family because he was an exceptionally strong water blessed child and the queens needed an heir. Chastion was once Aardriyah’s lovable older brother, but years apart have made him into an entitled and arrogant man who she loathes more often than not. When Aardriyah begins to have these strange dreams, Teme, an old man in the village, seems to have an idea as to why and help her along her journey. While he claims to want to help, it’s clear that he’s got a few secrets that he’s keeping from her. On her journey, Aardriyah meets Rachida, a fire blessed, who she befriends. Rachida was my favorite character because she was funny and sassy and it was nice to have a little bit of a break from serious moments for a bit. Lastly, there is Princess Kibo, another child who was adopted by the queens of the water blessed. While helping Aardriyah, the reader isn’t able to get much of a feel for who Kibo is, because her motivations aren’t really explained and very little of her true personality is shown. Unlike most novels, I can’t really say that this book has a main antagonist.

Since this novel was the first book in a series, there was a great deal of world-building that had to be included in the story. Kaldanis needed to show the reader what this world was, how it worked, how the powers of the blessed worked and why things are the way that they are in terms of political power and social constructs. In my opinion, she did an excellent job of that without making it seemed forced or like an exposition dump. I also enjoyed the magic system and the way that it was explained, with society being categorized based on the elemental magic and the division between each caste. The magic system has a lot of potential that I hope to see in future books in the series. The writing also really surprised me. It felt natural and fluid and it didn’t feel like this was a debut novel. The writing style wasn’t overly flowery or descriptive and that helped me follow the story easily, as opposed to getting lost in the depictions of the world the story took place in.

While I enjoyed elements of this novel, there were a few things that took away from my enjoyment. One was that Aardriyah lost nearly all her agency once the plot truly kicked off. Prior to her having to leave her home, she’s shown to be strong and frustratingly stubborn, but once she’s told she has to leave, without being told why, she goes along with it. She does what she’s told, out of character, with a minimal amount of fighting back or arguing. I found it annoying as well that she kept circling back to resenting her brother, even when there were much bigger and more important things she needed to worry about. Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that Teme very obviously knew exactly what was happening and who was after Aardriyah but didn’t share that information until near the very end of the story. Others tried to get him to reveal what he knew earlier, but they didn’t make much of an effort and, when asked, he just pushed them off, saying he’d explain later. This didn’t make any sense to me and, if Teme knowing what was going on had been revealed later, it would’ve worked a little better. In his second appearance, the reader knows, and the characters know, that Teme knows more than he’s saying, but the secrets aren’t revealed until close to the end of the book. The pacing for this novel was a little wonky. The plot moves quickly to get Aardriyah to leave Veros, but then it slows down dramatically until the last 15% of the book. In that last section of the book, the pacing picks up as the reader is told what Aardriyah’s dreams are about and why she’s being chased before setting the stage for the next book. The ending feels rushed as a result because so much information is being revealed in so few pages. I finished the book feeling slightly unsatisfied and a little off-kilter because of the pacing issues. The plot itself isn’t terrible, but there weren’t very many surprises.

The Unblessed Child was an enjoyable book. I liked the world-building and magic system a lot and the premise of the story was intriguing. At the same time, the pacing and some other elements of the plot needed work. It was difficult for me to connect with many of the characters. It’s a quick read and a good fantasy story, so I might read the sequel when it comes out to see what happens next.

Rating: 3.2 Stars

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The Knight's Daughter

The Knight's Daughter is a 2020 middle grade fantasy novel by S. H. Cooper. The novel is a sword and sorcery fantasy. It's the first book in the Lady Knight trilogy. I was provided with an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

The novel follows a 14-year-old girl named Mary McThomas who has spent her life dreaming of becoming a knight like her father. After an ambush on their village leaves Mary's father in critical condition, Mary's willing to do whatever it takes to save him. Together with her older brothers and a mysterious fae, Mary finds herself entering a world of danger and magic. While Mary searches for a cure, dark forces search for Mary, seeking her for their own gain.

The Knight's Daughter has four major characters: Mary, Drake and Joseph, her brothers, and Torren, the fae who approaches Mary, claiming she knows a way to save her father. Mary begins the novel as being very unsure of herself and she's not entirely sure about who she is and where she fits into the world. Drake and Joseph, both seventeen, are on the cusp of adulthood and the attack leaves them trying to fill the role their father usually holds in terms of protecting their family. I enjoyed reading the dynamic between the siblings and how their relationship grew and changed over the course of the novel. Given that this is a middle-grade novel, there isn't much character development to speak of, and the development that is there is mostly centered around the three McThomas siblings learning more about themselves and their place in the world. Torren is a fae who initially helps Mary because the man behind the attack on the village, Meverick Conan, had previously attacked her people. Conan serves as the story's main antagonist, who has people hunting for Mary for unknown reasons. He's filled with a desire for revenge and believes Mary is the key to achieving it. Along the journey, Mary and her traveling companions meet a plethora of people, both good and bad. My personal favorite was Reena, who belongs to a nomadic group. I thought she was the funniest minor character.

I found the story to be rather amusing. I enjoyed reading about the fae and the magic within the world. Cooper did an excellent job with the world-building, giving the reader plenty of information and exposition without making it feel like a lot. I also liked the theme of family that is present throughout the story. Mary's brothers join her on the journey, not to have a fun adventure, but to make sure nothing happens to her. The plot itself is centered on their family, which was refreshing because a lot of younger fantasy involves separating the main character from their family and having them go on a journey alone. I appreciated the explanation of why Mary was both the only person who could help her father and why Conan was hunting for her. I'm not a big fan of "chosen ones", which Mary is in a way as she finds out late into the story, but the in-universe reason given fits with this story.

Before I go into some criticism I have of The Knight's Daughter, I do want to briefly touch on how this book works as a middle grade novel. I don't do this for young adult works because YA and adult have a lot more overlap than middle grade and adult. From a technical perspective, this is an excellent middle grade book. The story and world aren't too advanced for younger readers. The writing itself is very easy to digest. Other than a few fight scenes, there isn't anything within the story that's too heavy or advanced for middle grade.

While I enjoyed The Knight's Daughter, there were a few aspects to the story that didn't quite work for me. As mentioned above, the writing is very straightforward, which as an adult reader is a negative, but as I said, it's great for the intended audience. As a result of the writing being so easy to digest, I don't really have an opinion on the author's writing style. I was a little confused by the pacing. There were parts where the narrative seemed to slow down more than it should've and then it took a while for things to pick back up. Conversely, there were parts towards the end that felt needlessly rushed. Lastly, there was a particular reveal/plot twist that seemed kind of tacked on. I don't want to give any spoilers, but to me, it felt like the twist had been added to set up the second book, and that wasn't needed since there was enough of the main plot was unresolved for the second book already.

The Knight's Daughter is an entertaining, quick read. It has relatable characters, magic and an overall good story. While I had some issues with pacing and the writing itself, I don't want that to deter others from reading it. I think it's great for middle grade readers who are trying to figure out what genres they like. I'd also recommend it to reader who enjoy Arthurian or medieval fantasy specifically.

Rating: 3.1 Stars

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Empress of All Seasons

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Empress of All Seasons is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Emiko Jean. It was released in Novemeber 2018 and published by Gollancz. The novel is heavily influenced by Japanese mythology and folklore. The novel can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon.

The novel centers around a once-in-a-generation tournament which is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The participants must conquer the palace’s enchanted rooms, each designed after a season, to win the competition and marry the prince. All women are eligible to enter except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits who are being oppressed by the emperor. Mari, a yokai girl, has spent her life training for the competition. If her status as a yokai is revealed, her life will be forfeit. While struggling to keep her own secret, her fate becomes entwined with that of Taro, the crown prince, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai boy she’s known for years. The choices of Mari, Taro and Akira, as they navigate the competition, will decide the fate of Honoku.

First, let’s discuss characters. As mentioned above, this novel has three main characters, Mari, Taro and Akira, who serve as the narrators for the story.  Mari was by far my favorite character of the three. She’s an Animal Wife, a yokai who seduces men into marriage and then runs off with their fortune. When others in her village conclude that she’s not pretty enough to woo men outright, they begin training her for the contest with the goal of her winning, marrying the prince and escaping with the imperial fortune. Mari is by far the most complex and interesting character. She’s a skilled fighter, but has moments where she shows a great deal of humanity. She wants to win the competition, and fulfill the task she’s spent her life training for, but at the same time, she also seeks to find a way to help the oppressed and enslaved yokai in the capital. Taro is the prince who is also Mari’s love interest. I didn’t really know how to feel about his character. He wasn’t very committed to what he wanted, seeming to decide he wants something very impulsively, which contrasted well with Mari. At the same time, he was rather entitled, which was annoying. Lastly, we have Akira, a halfblooded yokai. He was one of the most straightforward characters in the story and by far the most noble. He follows Mari to the capital to watch out for her during the competition, and gets swept up into the yokai resistance. Unlike Mari and Taro, he’s fully committed to his goal, but along his journey comes to realize that saving one person means nothing if the yokai are allowed to remain oppressed and enslaved. The conflict within Akira is the most relatable, as he finds himself torn between his self-assigned mission to help Mari and his mission for the resistance. I also enjoyed the dynamic Asami, another competitor, developed with Mari and her character in general, but I can’t really explain why without spoiling some important moments of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the magic and mythological elements in this story. A number of different types of yokai are introduced in the story, from Animal Wives to oni to yuki-onna. I don’t know much about Japanese mythology and folklore, so it was nice to be introduced to characters and creatures I hadn’t encountered before. Fantasy could always benefit from more diversity and authors pulling inspiration from different sources and cultures. Interspersed throughout the story are scenes explaining the world and how the competition for the Empress of All Seasons originated. My favorite aspect, however, was the magic of the four seasonal rooms. Each room contained its own world, based on the season it was named after, but with different elements and threats.  The danger of this competition becomes apparent in the first room, and the magic built into each room only adds to the tension and danger. I enjoyed Emiko Jean’s writing style, especially her depictions of events within the seasonal rooms.

While I liked the characters and the magic in the story, I’m torn about whether I enjoyed the plot or not. The competition itself was a fascinating idea and I liked reading about the events of Mari competing. There were some parts that I felt were very predictable, such as what happened with the emperor after the competition ended and the truth behind it. For a story this unique, I was hoping for a plot twist that was a little more surprising. The beginning of the story was a bit slower than I would’ve liked. It took about 100 pages for the competition to even begin. At the same time, the ending felt a bit rushed. The big, climactic conclusion was over almost as soon as it started. The behavior of certain characters also changed at the drop of a hat to fit the narrative, which didn’t make sense to me. I found the romance in this story to be bland as well. Taro seems to instantly fall in love with Mari the moment he sees her and I’m not a fan of insta-love. I wasn’t sold on Taro’s character and his romance with Mari didn’t interest me in any way.

Empress of All Seasons is a book with one of the most interesting worlds I’ve read so far this year. The premise behind the story felt unique and I liked the overall writing. While I enjoyed aspects of the book, it failed to deliver on others, such as the romantic subplot, and I felt that the pacing needed some improvement. I think this novel is a good book and I’d recommend it to fantasy readers, especially those looking to branch out some and try new authors. I’m excited to read other works by this author.

Rating: 3.4 Stars

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The Enixar: The Sorcerer's Conquest

The Enixar: The Sorcerer’s Conquest is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Mikkell K. Khan. It was self-published by the author in March of 2018. The novel is the first in its series and is followed by The Enixar: Solitude of Sin.

The novel follows Gudrunn, the mysterious and powerful sorcerer king of Gramadon, as he searches for an ancient dragon egg which will give him ultimate dominion over his country. As his quest continues, one of his generals, Meriaus, begins to question the king’s actions and what his true motives are. The fate of Gramadon and the universe as they know it hangs in the balance of the conflict for the dragon egg.

One of the aspects of this novel that I enjoyed the most was the dual perspectives telling the story. While the novel begins with Gundrunn and Meriaus as allies, as the story progresses, they become adversaries and seeing the events of the story told from two perspectives, one from each “side”, enhances the story-telling. Additionally, being able to read events through the eyes of a tyrant was refreshing, as I haven’t read many books where the “villain” is given much of a point-of-view.

Let’s discuss characters for a moment. While Gundrunn is a main character, and the first POV character the reader encounters, he’s also the main antagonist of the story. I appreciated his character for how determined he was to achieve his goal.  He was going to find the dragon egg and hatch it, regardless who he had to kill or how many people he had to oppress to get it. My favorite type of villain is a villain with focus like that. I also enjoyed how uncompromising he was about his actions. He didn’t try to justify his actions to anyone. He knew what he was doing was evil and oppressive, but just didn’t care. He was not a character the reader was meant to feel sympathy towards. Lord Meriaus is the other main character, as mentioned previously. Initially, he’s sent by the king to convince the Silent Monks, a religious order, to submit to the king’s will and become part of the monarchy. Soon into his mission, Meriaus becomes distrustful of his king’s intentions and when Gundrunn resorts to violence, he becomes determined to stop the sorcerer king, no matter the cost. While his allegiance in the beginning was difficult to comprehend, his growth once he realizes the king needed to be stopped made him a great character.  

This novel was a good start to the series. Khan laid a lot of the groundwork to build off of in future novels. Similarly, he introduced elements in the story, such as the Enixar magic and explained a little bit of how it worked without removing the mystery for future installments. While the reader is given some information about Gundrunn’s past, there are plenty more stories to tell and questions about characters such as Paldek, the Architects and mission that sent him to Gramadon in the first place. The action scenes were fast-paced and there were moments that genuinely surprised me.  

While I did enjoy the novel overall, there are a few issues I had with it. I wasn’t a big fan of the author’s writing style. I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t quite click with me. It felt pretty average. My biggest complaint is how short the novel is. It’s probably more of a novella technically. As a result of the story being so short, the author had to rely on a few tropes I’m not a fan of in order to show how terrible Gundrunn is and how little he cares for his people. Rather than show he’s a monster, we’re told he’s a monster, with a few scenes to back those claims up. In fact, following Meriaus defecting from the king and his decision to stop him, regardless of the cost, a lot of the plot moves forward as a result of the reader being told that certain things have happened. While some of the magic system is introduced, there isn't much explanation and I wish there was a bit more of that. A brewing rebellion is mentioned, but we see very little of the actual rebellion or rebels in the story. If the book were a little bit longer, I’d imagine the author would’ve taken advantage of the chance to show the reader things rather than tell us.

The Enixar: The Sorcerer’s Conquest is a so-so book in my opinion. The author did a good job creating an interesting world and leaving the reader with enough questions to be interested in the second book. At the same time, it’s very short length meant the pacing felt rushed and too much information was told to the reader as opposed to being shown to them. I think this book would be great for middle grade readers or very young YA readers, but older readers might not enjoy it as much.

Rating: 2.7 Stars

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Warrior of the Wild

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Warrior of the Wild is a 2019 young adult fantasy novel by Tricia Levenseller. It was published by Square Fish. The book was immediately met with praise upon its release. The novel can be purchased here from Bookshop.org

The novel is set in the Viking era and follows Rasmira, the daughter of her village's chieftain. Trained as a warrior her whole life, Rasmira is exiled from her village after her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged. In order to win back her honor and return home, she's tasked with killing the oppressive god who claims tribute from her village or die trying.

My favorite thing about this novel were the characters. The three main characters are Rasmira, Iric and Soren, who are exiled teens from another village. As the main character and the point-of-view character, I enjoyed Rasmira the most. An eighteen-year-old who has been trained as a warrior her whole life, she could've easily been written to be a token "strong female character" with no real personality or depth, but Levenseller avoided that pitfall. Rasmira is a fierce warrior, but there is a sensitive side to her. When she's betrayed during her coming-of-age trial, she doesn't only feel angry, she also feels hurt. Several times in the narrative, she references the fact that yes, she's a fighter, but that doesn't mean she's not allowed to be a normal teenage girl. She makes mistakes, but doesn't let those mistakes keep her from moving forward. The duality between her being a warrior, and also a teenager gives her character a great deal of nuance and made me invested in her story. Soren and Iric are friends and quasi-brothers from another village who have been banished for failing their own coming-of-age trials and given equally difficult tasks to complete in order to return home. They're both incredibly witty, which brings some levity to the story and have a fierce loyalty to one another, and later Rasmira. I love the dynamic of found families, which is what develops between these three young adults. They look out for one another and, thanks to Rasmira's determination to complete her task, gives each of them hope that they can complete their own. There is not much I can say about other characters without spoiling things. The majority of the plot follows Rasmira, Iric and Soren. The main villain is the god Peruxolo who isn't a terribly compelling character given that he's not given much backstory or examination. He's an evil, oppressive deity and Rasmira's quest to defeat him matters more than anything specific about him.

I enjoyed the tasks each character was given and the quest that results in each character trying to fulfill their tasks. Rasmira has to kill a god. Iric is tasked with killing a a sea monster and Soren must climb a mountain and steal the feather of a mythical bird. Since the tasks themselves are so simple, the author has room to write plenty of dynamic and surprising action scenes. It also allows a good deal of world-building and describing the creatures and atmosphere of the story. The wild is immersive and the world is fascinating. I love historical fantasy quests, and this novel gave me three quests in one. The pacing of this book was pretty good. It was a little slow in parts, but overall it kept a consistent and exciting pace. While I enjoyed the conclusion, I liked how the conclusion came about slightly more, which I know is confusing. I liked the final confrontation, but the scenes of Rasmira learning what she needed to and putting all of the pieces together in order to face Peruxolo were much more interesting to me. The explanation of everything was surprising in the best way possible.

While I enjoyed Warrior of the Wild overall, I do have a few criticisms. I felt like the romantic subplot in this book was a little boring and predictable. It wasn't terrible and I'm glad there wasn't some kind of love triangle happening, but I wasn't very invested in it. It just felt a bit unneeded in my opinion. I also felt like the way Rasmira's coming-of-age trial was sabotaged was very predictable and not the plot-twist it was meant to feel like. She's shown to be a very intelligent person who can read people pretty well, but she didn't even have slightest inkling that someone who she's only really known for a short time might be hiding something. If she'd been betrayed by someone she'd been friends with for years, the shock would've been more surprising. There were also some random plot contrivances that I rolled my eyes at, such as Iric just happening to be a master blacksmith when they need weapons and armor, which were clearly meant to move the plot along, but made things feel a bit too easy.

Warrior of the Wild is a great book. It's the first book by Tricia Levenseller that I've read, but it makes me want to read more of her work. I found myself really liking her writing style and the way the story unfolded. I'd recommend it to fans of young adult fantasy, especially anyone who enjoys Viking or Viking-inspired stories.

Rating: 4.2 Stars

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The First Girl Child

The First Girl Child is a 2019 historical fantasy-romance by Amy Harmon. It was published in August 2019 by 47North. The story is set during the Viking era. I discovered the book while browsing Kindle Unlimited one day.

The novel takes place in the kingdom of Saylok. The story follows Bayr of Saylok, the bastard son of a powerful chieftain who is haunted by the curse his dying mother cast upon the land. With her dying breath, she cursed Saylok to not have any daughters. Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk. Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

Overall, I think this book was a miss for me. Judging by the blurb, I was expecting a novel that was a mix of fantasy and historical romance, but the book doesn't quite deliver. It is a historical romance with just a dash of fantasy elements thrown in. The magic system of curses and blood runes was under utilized in my opinion. The magic system itself had potential, but it wasn't expanded upon enough or taken proper advantage of. The system was unique and could've made the story interesting, but seemed to mostly serve the purpose of setting the plot in motion and being referenced occasionally later on. The curse itself created an interesting conflict, there are no girls being born and no one knows why, but it too is shunted to the side to focus on the romantic plot. I was also expecting something a little more action-oriented, since this is a Viking romance. There's nothing inherently wrong with the way the story is told and what plot elements received the most emphasis, but this novel simply wasn't for me.

Another issue I had with The First Girl Child was the overall pacing. The novel takes place over the span of about twenty years. It's a slow burn romance with not much action. There are parts of the book that move very slowly and I feel could have been consolidated down or explored in a different, less meandering way. It felt to me, upon finishing, that there were a lot of scenes that didn't really serve a purpose. If the author had chosen to skip over some of those moments, the book would flow a lot more naturally. The issue with pacing also applies to one of the later plot twists. The twist is introduced too late in the plot to be effective and by the time it happens, I was already expecting it. Due to the amount of filler, and amount of discussion happening in the story about Saylok's daughter problem and its consequences, it was almost a given how the king of Saylok would try to resolve the conflict. It also felt ineffective because it didn't conflict with the plotline I was the most invested in. I was curious about when and how the truths about Bayr and Alba were going to be revealed, not what the king was scheming about. So, I didn't really find the twist to be very groundbreaking.

I found it somewhat difficult to connect with any of the characters. The reader is meant to connect with Bayr and Alba, being the main characters, but they don't have much substance. It was hard to feel invested in their relationship as a result as well. The king of Saylok is the villain of the story, and it's very clear from his first appearance that he's meant to be the villain. Every subsequent scene is meant to show how evil he is, but the reader already knows that and those scenes instead put emphasis on the other, secondary characters around him, which doesn't feel intentional. I found myself liking the secondary characters, such as Ghost and Dagmar, more than the main ones, because they had much more nuance and complexity to them.

This review has been negative so far, but I don't want it to seem like I completely hated the book or the author. Harmon is a very skilled writer. The prose was captivating and made it difficult for me to put the book down, despite the aspects I mentioned above. She creates a vivid picture of the world of Saylok and, despite my disappointment in this novel, I want to read more of her work. I found the core idea of this story intriguing, but not the execution.

The First Girl Child was a book that didn't quite work for me. I expected a different story than I ended up reading. I don't want to discourage others from reading this book simply because it didn't fit my tastes. Romance isn't a genre I tend to enjoy, but I wanted to give the story a try. If romance is a genre you enjoy, and this story interests you, I hope my opinion doesn't sway you from deciding to read it. It's objectively a good book, just not the one for me.

Rating: 2.7 Stars

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The Summoned Ones

The Summoned Ones: Book 1 Flight to Bericea is a 2020 young adult fantasy novel by Darryl A. Woods. It was published in February 2020 by Bresford Ridge Publishing and is the first novel in the series. I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The novel follows a group of college-aged friends from a small Kentucky town. While exploring Daniel Boone National Forest, they find themselves somehow brought into a strange, chaotic world. To the residents of this magical world, they are the Summoned Ones, prophesized beings who will aid Bericea in its time of greatest need. Over the past 9 years, Zybaro, the leader of a small band of unknowns, has evolved from his days as a minor usurper of a tiny kingdom. Now, almost the entire country of Malabrim is under Zybaro's control, and his army looks to challenge Bericea's army. Still, Bericea continues its raids into Malabrim, hoping to stem Zybaro's methodical progress and thwart his tyrannical means of control. Zybaro has seized village after village, forcing anyone capable of joining his army and enslaving all who remained in deplorable working conditions to supply his army. This latest conflict with Zybaro pushes General Darnon to a decision, one he had resisted making for over a year. Though he still held grave reservations about the Prophecies, he was willing to support the clerics who would attempt the summoning behind enemy lines. On the perilous journey back to Bericea, the Summoned Ones will discover many truths about themselves and experience a world beyond their imaginations.

To start off this review, I want to say that I enjoyed the world of The Summoned Ones. Woods created a dynamic world, which is reminiscent of other fantasy worlds, such as Middle Earth or Narnia, but is unique in and of itself. The prologue alone gives a great deal of information about the basics of Bericea and more detail is shown as the story progresses and as the Summoned Ones start to see more of it. The aspect of the world that I found the most fascinating and the most unique was the magic system. As far as I can remember, this is the first book I've read where the magic system was tied to music, which was refreshing and unexpected. Additionally, the level of detail put into creating the atmosphere of this story is commendable. Without using language that is too flowery or descriptive, Woods created a world that I could picture as I was reading. I was able to get immersed into the story easily and it kept my attention.

Another aspect of this novel that I enjoyed was the ages of the protagonists, which I know might sound a bit odd. I refer to these types of stories as "portal stories", meaning stories in which the main characters end up in another world or time period by falling through a portal of some kind or a similar event happening. In most books I've read with this plot device, the characters are either children, such as The Chronicles of Narnia, or fully-fledged adults. A good deal of fantasy in general has characters that are either high school aged or adults in their late 20s or 30s. There aren't many fantasy novels, at least that I've read, with protagonists who are college-aged. It was refreshing to see characters in that age range, and well-written ones at that. Of the eight Summoned Ones, all eight had one trait or another that reminded me of someone that I knew. Their behavior and the way they responded to this strange new world made sense both in the context of their backstories and the world they left at the beginning of the story. I can't accurately delve into each character without having this review be far too long, but I really enjoyed these characters and their dynamics. The dynamics between the Kentuckian college students and the soldiers they meet along their journey was fascinating as well, since each character develops their own friendships and connections along the way with the citizens of this strange world.

Now, I'm going to dive into some of the less story-oriented, and more structural topics related to The Summoned Ones.  First, let's discuss the pacing of the story. Maybe I'm weird, but pacing is very big deal for me in literature. The pacing for this novel is a bit slow at first, as the characters are introduced and the plot is being set into motion. As expected, once the Summoned Ones find themselves in Bericea, the story starts to gain momentum. The pacing of individual scenes is well-executed as well. The fighting scenes are fast-paced and exciting, while scenes that focus more on exposition are more relaxed and less intense. I enjoyed the split perspective as well. The Summoned Ones are separated into three groups shortly after arriving in Bericea, so each group ends up on the different journeys to the same destination. Not only does this allow the reader to see more of the world, but the effects of Bericea's fight against Zybaro's forces can be seen on different levels and to different extents. I feel like this novel ended at the exact right moment. As mentioned above, this is the first novel in a series. The Summoned Ones ends when one stage of the characters' journey is over and another is about to begin, which is perfect from a story-telling perspective and the epilogue made me excited for the next installment.

While I did enjoy the novel as a whole, there were a few things I wasn't a fan of while reading. My biggest complaint would be a frustration at how quickly the Summoned Ones are able to master their abilities. None of them face much of challenge, either when learning the magic system or learning more mundane skills they need. It felt like they went from amateurs to experts after only one or two attempts at something. It felt like things were made to be too easy for them, which irked me a little bit. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, the story starts off slowly as characters are being introduced and it did feel like that part of the book was longer than it needed to be.

Overall, I enjoyed The Summoned Ones. It was a refreshing, well-written novel with an interesting and engaging story. The world created in the story reminded me of some of my favorite works. While by no means perfect, the novel is overall pretty great. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the next book in the series to find out what happens next.

Rating: 3.9 Stars

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The Vine Witch

The Vine Witch is a 2019 historical fantasy by Luanne G. Smith. It was published by 47North. The stroy takes place in turn-of-the-century France. I discovered the novel while browsing Kindle Unlimited one day.

The novel tells the story of a woman named Elena who is a vine witch, witches whose spells have created world-renowned wines for centuries. After breaking a spell that she'd been under for years, Elena returns to the vineyards at Château Renard, the only home she's ever known, only to find that it has fallen upon hard time in her absence. While Elena struggles to regain her former life, she plans her revenge on the witch who cursed her and the lover who wronged her.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this novel is the magic system. I initially decided to read this book because I was curious about how the author would entwine magic and wine-making in the narrative. Smith not only explained how magic can be used to improve wine-making, but also how it can be used for sabotaged. One of the reasons Elena's beloved vineyard has fallen upon hard times while she was cursed is because another witch has placed a hex on the vineyard, resulting in a series of bad vintages by the winemakers. Vine witches aren't the only type of witches in this story, either. There are witches who specialize in poisons, witches who are experts in healing arts, and plenty of other magical disciplines. I enjoyed the variety of magical abilities on display in the story.

Smith's writing is very vivid, which works in this story's favor. As I was reading, I could practically see the rural landscape. I could taste the wine being described by the narrative. I also enjoyed the pacing of this novel. It is a little slow in the beginning, but the plot escalates in a way that makes sense but also doesn't feel rushed. The story builds up tension appropriately, and while the conclusion felt a little cliche, I didn't have any major complaints about how the story was resolved. One thing that I was surprised by was the revelation of who cursed Elena and turned her into a toad, the curse she breaks at the beginning of the novel. That revelation was one of the few plot elements that genuinely surprised me.

While I liked Smith's overall writing style, and the magic system she created, there were a few things I didn't enjoy about The Vine Witch. The biggest complaint I have is the lack of characterization. Most of the characters fell flat with me, including some of the main characters. They didn't really have much depth to them. The reader wasn't given enough of a reason to hate Bastien, Elena's former fiance who she believes cursed her, other than the fact that she does. He's a shrewd businessman who wants to grow his business, and that fact, combined with her suspicions of him, is supposed to be enough for the reader to want him to fail and suffer. This book also has quite a bit of filler, which I normally wouldn't have a problem with, but this isn't a long book and having as much filler as it does works against its favor. Lastly, there is the romance, which I wasn't a fan of. There isn't enough shown of the developing relationship between Elena and Jean-Paul, so it felt a bit rushed. I also didn't think they had much chemistry. Overall, the romance felt like it existed to tick off a box on a list and not because it was necessary to the story. 

The Vine Witch is a book that I would call average. I don't think it's a groundbreaking, amazing novel, but it isn't terrible either. It lags in places, and is a little boring, but the story overall is sound and well-crafted. It fits into a category that I call "beach reads", which are books that are quick, easy reads that keeps the reader engaged without being overly deep or memorable. The book is enjoyable, but it wasn't a favorite of mine.

Rating: 3.7 Stars

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After Alice

After Alice is a 2015 fantasy novel by Gregory Maguire. It was published by William Morrow in October 2015. The novel is a retelling of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The novel follows Ada, Alice's friend, who arrives a moment too late to prevent Alice from going down the rabbit hole and ends up taking a trip to Wonderland herself. Ada traverses Wonderland to try and bring her friend home. Meanwhile, Ada's governess Miss and Alice's sister Lydia search for the missing girls.

While I wanted to enjoy this story, I feel like Maguire chose to put the wrong amount of emphasis on certain parts of this novel. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I read the blurb on the back of this book, I was expecting a story about a new character traveling through Wonderland and getting to experience it for the first time. Perhaps the reader would get to see new parts of Wonderland that weren't mention, or were barely touched upon, in Carroll's original story. Unfortunately, that isn't what happens in this novel. Over half of the novel focuses on events happening in Victorian England as opposed to Wonderland itself. Ada's governess Miss Armstrong searches for Ada while Lydia is more concerned with learning about the visitor, Mr. Winter, than her missing sister. There is also a section of Lydia's story where discussions about slavery and evolution occur. While slavery was still happening in America when Alice in Wonderland is set, and Charles Darwin is a character in this story, around the time he released The Origin of Species, these topics felt out of place with the rest of the story. The commentary on those topics were almost completely unnecessary and distracted from the story Maguire set out to tell. While some may have wondered what happened in England while Alice was in Wonderland, the chapters taking place in Victorian England really slowed the story down and distracted from the parts of the story I wanted to read most.

The chapters of the story that did not focus on life in Victorian London took place in Wonderland. Sadly, Ada's adventure through Wonderland was far less entertaining and exciting as Alice's. For the majority of Ada's adventure in Wonderland, she's simply trying to find Alice and has no adventures for herself. She often arrives just after an iconic scene from Alice in Wonderland has ended, missing all of the excitement and most of the wonder. For example, she arrives at the Mad Hatter's tea party after Alice has already left. Ada could've had her own adventure, but instead spends page after page chasing after Alice and not being able to truly experience Wonderland. Due to a combination of too much emphasis on Victorian England, and no excitement in the Wonderland chapters, I found After Alice to be rather boring.

I chose to read this book because I loved Maguire's more famous work, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I was amazed by the character work and character development he created in that story.He turned a character who was seen as pure evil, the Wicked Witch, and gave her personality and complex motivations. I was expecting the same to happen in After Alice, but sadly we don't get that. While there are a plethora of characters, none are fully-fleshed out. Lydia is a stereotypical self-involved teenager and Ada's most notable character trait is a dislike for her governess and the fact that she's awkward. The characters aren't really characters, and thus there's no character growth or real character arcs that take place. It's difficult for me to read a novel where I don't connect, or even like, a single character, and that's what happened here.

While I wasn't a fan of this book overall, there were some things that I enjoyed. Maguire's writing style has always enraptured me. He excels at writing his descriptions and creating a clear, vivid picture of the world for the reader. In the case of After Alice, he took great pains to try and replicate Lewis Carroll's clever writing, and in places, he achieves that goal. He gets closer than most Alice-inspired works do at capturing Carroll's voice, and while I didn't enjoy the plot overall, his ability to imitate the original work kept me closing the book and giving up.

Overall, I have to say that After Alice simply wasn't the novel for me. The writing is amazing, but the plot and character-work left me feeling unfulfilled. My main issues with the novel stem from one factor: the story is incredibly boring. There's no wonder in Wonderland and while the blurb promises a new story, the promise goes unfulfilled.

Rating: 1.7 Stars

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April Book Haul

With everything going on, I've been doing a lot of reading. As a result, I've inevitably gone on more than one book-buying binge recently. Strangely, all of the books I purchased arrived on the same day, so I've decided to make a book haul post to show off my purchases.

(Please note, all book blurbs are copied from Goodreads.com)

And I Darken by Kiersten White || Genre: Fantasy

Blurb: No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets. 

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion. 

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbet || Genre: Science Fiction

Blurb: More than three thousand years have passed since the first events recorded in DUNE. Only one link survives with those tumultuous times: the grotesque figure of Leto Atreides, son of the prophet Paul Muad'Dib, and now the virtually immortal God Emperor of Dune. He alone understands the future, and he knows with a terrible certainty that the evolution of his race is at an end unless he can breed new qualities into his species. But to achieve his final victory, Leto Atreides must also bring about his own downfall.

Prelude to Extinction by Andreas Karpf || Genre: Science Fiction

Blurb: When Jack Harrison climbed down the short ladder from the airlock and stepped onto the debris covered soil, the ground crackled with the sound of dried leaves and twigs. Warm sunlight shined through his helmet, making him almost forget the decade he just spent captaining Earth’s first ship to another star system. The serene tropical surroundings, though, stood in stark contrast to the long abandoned structures that lay nearby.

Evidence points to a massacre – the systematic extermination of an alien colony hundreds of millennia ahead of humanity. Time, however, has erased any trace of the attackers. Jack and his crew barely start probing the ruins before their curiosity betrays them as an abandoned alien device cuts them off from their main ship. Lost and short on supplies, survival soon becomes their only goal. Even their short-lived rescue by an alien race, who themselves are under siege, offers little hope. As they struggle to find a way home, signs begin pointing to a danger darker than any they could have foreseen. Jack knows that playing it safe may no longer be an option – but his only other choice is to confront a threat that they don’t even begin to understand.

Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder || Genre: Comics

Blurb: After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest. As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect. Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption? Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime?

Superman, Volume 1: Son of Superman by Peter J. Tomasi || Genre: Comics

Blurb: After the stunning events of DC Universe: Rebirth, the world is left without Superman! Luckily, there is another Man of Steel to fill his shoes: the pre-Flashpoint Kal-El! However, can this new Superman protect the world while raising a super-son with his wife, Lois Lane? And should they help their boy use his new and rapidly increasing abilities, or hide them from the world?

Those are the books I bought during my book-buying sprees. I know it's not a huge haul, but it's more books than I've bought in a while, and I felt like sharing them.

Have you bought any new books recently? Any books you'd recommend?

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Children of Blood and Bone

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Children of Blood and Bone is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by Tomi Adeyemi. It was published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and was the author’s debut novel. It is the first book in the Legacy of Orisha series. The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times best-seller list. The film rights were sold to Fox 2000 prior to the book's publication. Children of Blood and Bone can be purchased here from Bookshop.org 

The novel takes place in the land of Orisha, which is home to two distinct groups of people: diviners, who have the potential to become the magical maji, and the non-magical kosidan. Eleven years prior to the start of the story, Orisha’s king, Saran, discovered a way to render the maji powerless and ordered the slaughter of many defenseless diviners, including the mother of Zelie Adebola. Since that time, diviners have been severely oppressed and without hope. While in the capital, Zelie, a diviner, and her brother Tzain encounter a rogue princess, Amari, who has discovered a way to give magic back to the maji. They are pursued on their journey by the crown prince Inan, who is determined to eradicate magic for good.

As with any novel, there are many memorable characters, but I don't have time to talk about all of them, otherwise this review would be two or three times the length it currently is. Instead, I will focus on the five characters most crucial to the plot. Zelie is the heroine of the story, a maji with the ability to call forth the spirits of the dead, referred to in-universe as a Reaper. Having been ostracized and oppressed for most of her life because she's different from most of those around her, she welcomes the chance to resort magic to Orisha and give her people a way to protect themselves and fight back against their oppressors. I liked Zelie and her arc as a character. She's uncertain of herself, she struggles with her abilities and several times, wonders if she's able to fulfill the task that others say she's desperate for. Tzain is Zelie’s brother, who is one of the kosidan. He comes with her on her journey at their father’s request and serves as a voice of reason. Zelie can be brash and impulsive and he is usually the one who convinces her to find better solutions to a given problem. Amari is the princess of Orisha, who's escape from the palace with a magical artifact sets the story into motion. While she has been raised her whole life to be scared and wary of the diviners, she clearly doesn't believe that they're the monsters others say that they are.  She's a compassionate person, which many others see as a weakness, but her compassion is what drives her to join Zelie on her quest and try to make things better for the diviners. Amari begins the novel appearing to be very weak-willed and underestimated, but through the journey she takes with the Adebola siblings, she comes into her own and learns how to be comfortable with who she is. Inan is Zelie’s older brother and the heir to the throne. He's a very difficult character to talk about without spoiling a few things in the book, but let's just say he's an antagonist mostly just by circumstance. He's pursuing Zelie, Tzain and Amari on his father's orders. He wants to eradicate all magic because he's been told his whole life that if magic is allowed to exist, it will be the end of the kingdom and his family. It isn't until very late in the story that he is given a reason to want the things that he wants. I'll be honest, I spent a decent amount of the book annoyed at Inan because he was acting against his own self interests and, had he gotten what he wanted, he would suffer as a result. Lastly, there is the main antagonist of the story, King Saran. He makes very few appearances in the story, at the very beginning and in the climax. Other than his few appearances, most of his char activation comes from what's said about him by other characters. There isn't really much depth to Saran, no nuance to his goals. He hates the diviners, he hated the maji and wants to completely eradicate them altogether. He's a very simple villain and there's no attempt made to lessen how evil he comes off as. These five characters drive most of the plot and the dynamics between them created an engaging story. 

One of the aspects of this novel that I liked the most was the sources of inspiration the author drew from. While some of the sources she used are standard in fantasy, such as Harry Potter and An Ember in the Ashes, it was the inspiration derived from West African mythology and Yoruba culture that made this story and this world unique. It made the story refreshing. This was the first fantasy novel I read that had taken inspiration from West African mythology, or really any mythology that wasn't European. Adeyemi’s novel brings a new perspective and new ideas to the fantasy genre, which is never a bad thing. Fantasy, as with any genre, needs a wider diversity of storytellers.

This book delves into a number of complex themes, some of which I haven't read in fantasy before. One of the most obvious ones is its exploration of race. The maji are darker skinned than the kosidan. Given that the kosidan have enslaved parts of the maji population, it would be difficult to miss the message regarding how race and class can be used to divide a nation. Another theme regards the connection between power and brutality. By virtue of simply being the king, Saran already has power, but that's not enough for him. He feels the need to oppress and enslave the maji because he fears if they aren't oppressed, he and the other kosidan will lose control of the nation. Another recurring theme is characters’ responses to oppression. Zelie, as a result of watching her mother die and living every day in fear for her own life, is determined to resist and overthrow the current order that oppresses her. Another maji character doesn't want to overthrow the system, but use the eventual return of magic to unite the two groups and create a more peaceful country. Lesser themes include identity and the struggles with transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.

I don't have very much to say about the plot itself or the pacing of the story. I normally only talk about those things when I feel there's an issue with how the story unfolds or the speed at which it unfolds. The plot is solid, the elements that invoke foreshadowing do it deftly and it was easy to follow. The pacing was perfect, with scenes that needed to feel a little longer doing exactly that, while other, shorter scenes were given enough length without feeling rushed. The conclusion was amazing. I loved Adeyemi’s writing style itself and she's clearly a talented storyteller.

While I was a fan of the book as a whole, there is one aspect I didn't like. I wasn't a big fan of the romance between Zelie and Inan. The romance was the one aspect of the story that felt a little rushed. It felt a lot like “insta-love” in my opinion. I could see where it can be seen as following the “enemies to lovers” trope, but I don't think it really works here. Zelie develops feelings for someone who, at the beginning of the book, tries to kill her  and does a number of horrible things to people she cares about. It felt weird and contrived to me, so I find myself skimming through their romantic scenes in an effort to return to the parts of the story I did like. I might be the only one who didn't like this romance, but it really just didn't sit right with me.

Children of Blood and Bone is an exceptional story. Tomi Adeyemi is a wonderful writer and she deserves all of the praise this book has gotten. I haven't read the second book in this series, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, but it is definitely on my TBR now. I'd recommend Children of Blood and Bone to any young adult fantasy fans.

Rating: 4.8 stars

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