Category: Reviews

Review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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Alexis:

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book. There’s no such thing as a perfect book, but there were definitely some major things that made me almost not enjoy this book. (Disclaimer: Historically, I haven’t been a fan of dark academia).  

What I wasn’t a huge fan of:

  1. The first 200 pages are basically a giant info dump. I had absolutely no idea what the heck I was reading for a long time, and while I kept charging through, this will definitely turn off a lot of readers right off the bat. In Bardugo’s past books, her worldbuilding usually improves in book two of her series. But Ninth House has alternating timelines, which doesn’t make the beginning any less confusing. A lot of important worldbuilding information wasn’t explained until late into the book, which made this book a bit of a chore to get through.
  2. The plot is fairly slow moving. Because of the info dump beginning, there is a lot of narration and flashbacks. This gets in the way of the actual plot, which picked up around page 300.
  3. I generally enjoy reading dark books, but Ninth House almost verges on being too dark. Basically anything bad that can happen happens. Alex, the main character, had a hard past, but it’s almost too hard, if that makes sense. There’s a lot of violence that happens that’s almost unnecessary; it feels like violence for the sake of violence, as if Bardugo is trying to prove that she can write an adult book.

But the saving graces were:

  1. Darlington. And from what I’ve heard from other people who have read the book, we’re in agreement! He is definitely the shining character; his backstory resonated with me more than Alex’s. He has a great personality, and a charisma that bounces off of the page. And in a book full of morally grey characters, his character was welcoming. 
  2. Bardugo’s actual writing is great. Her dialogue is always on-point. Her characterization is great. Her descriptions are lush and flow well. She’s clearly a smart writer, and her knowledge of Yale really shapes this book. 
  3. The ending. The ending was the best part of the book, and it made me want to read the rest of the series. I have high hopes for the second book! 

If you like dark academia, intense magic systems, and morally gray characters, then give this one a shot! Pro tip: There’s a small index in the back of the book that I recommend checking out before you start reading. If I knew it was there, the beginning definitely would’ve made a little more sense!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐.5 /5

Trigger warnings: Pretty much everything: violence, gore, rape, murder, sexual assault, drug use. If you don’t like dark books, then I don’t recommend this book. 

Review: Mexican Goth by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Alexis:

This is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve read in a while. It reads like a gothic, psychedelic nightmare. Moreno-Garcia’s gross, creepy descriptions shine. High Place is dripping in mold, villainous characters, and ghost-like visions.

What I enjoyed:

The gothic feel of this novel. I love the homage to books like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I love the fairly upfront references to The Yellow Wallpaper.

Moreno-Garcia’s descriptions are wonderful (but in a horror type of way). And she describes everything in masterfully drawn descriptions with high amounts of detail. You’ll have no trouble visualizing High Place or its contents. The descriptions of the mold alone made my allergies want to flare up.

This book touches on a lot of the ideas of the 1950’s, even the unfavorable ones…like eugenics. But I enjoyed the discussions of anthropology and botany.

Francis’ character was definitely my favorite; he grew on me more as the book went along.

What I wasn’t a fan of:

The beginning of this book is so slow. The entire first chapter feels almost unnecessary. The first entire half of the book basically has no plot; it’s just Noemí trying to figure out what the heck is going on at High Place while also trying to comfort her cousin, Catalina. For that reason, I don’t think you can call this book “suspenseful.”

As for Catalina, there are reasons that pop up later as to why we don’t get to know her character that well, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I know her at all. We get Noemí’s perspective on her cousin, but I didn’t even get the notion that she even knows Catalina that well to begin with.

Overall, I wish the plot had been more solidified.

All in all, this book is split pretty much down the middle for me. The first half is slow moving and has a gothic atmosphere, while the second half is faster moving and leans more on horror.

If you want a lushly written, atmospheric, bizarre gothic story with a twist of horror, then this might be the book for you. Just be aware that it unravels slowly, but the descriptions and the twists at the end will stick with you.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Trigger warnings: Rape/sexual assault, violence, murder/death. Mentions of suicide, cannibalism, eugenics, incest, and miscarriage.

Review: Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst

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Alexis:

This is my third five star review in a row. This is so rare for me! Clearly, I did a good job choosing books from the library.

I found Race the Sands to be a complex book, full of politics and magic.

In Becar, everyone is reincarnated based on how you act in your current life. The lowest of the low are reincarnated as kehoks, savage monsters. Tamra is a kehok trainer, trying to save up enough money to fund her daughter’s education. And Raia is a seventeen year old trying to make her own life by becoming a kehok rider. She ends up riding a black, metal lion kehok, and together, Tamra and Raia work hard to win the Races.

Overall, I loved the characters, especially Tamra. This book felt unique from other young adult fantasy books that I’ve read lately.

Durst manages to balance several POV’s very well. I’m not normally a fan of books with more than two different perspectives, but it worked well for this world.

I enjoyed reading about the races, and all of the different kind of kehoks. I enjoyed reading about the augurs, the almost monk-like figures who read other people’s auras to determine how they will be reincarnated. I also enjoyed reading from Dar, the emperor-to-be’s, perspective.

There were only two small apects that I wasn’t a huge fan of, but they didn’t deter me from enjoying the book. The first is that one of the main mystery plot points in the beginning of the book is extremely predictable. Thankfully, the plot got more complicated as the book went on. The second is that a lot of the minor characters felt pretty one dimensional and had similar voices, but because they were the minor characters, it didn’t bother me too much.

While this book is still YA, it felt more adult to me than the average YA fantasy, especially since it features the POV of several adult characters.

If you’re looking for a book with great worldbuilding, strong female characters, racing monsters, and politics, then I recommend giving this one a try.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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Alexis:

What a beautiful love story. Because at the core, this is a love story. Because anyone who knows Greek mythology knows that Patroclus was Achilles’ lover, not “friend.”

Millers’ love for Greek mythology shines in this book. And she knows the ins and outs of it. She captures the Ancient Greek culture and society so well, including the Ancient Greek definition of honor, that I felt like I was being transported back to my three years of Latin class. Everything stays true to Homer, even her creative liberties.

And Miller’s writing is just beautiful, even when it’s brutual; she doesn’t sugarcoat the Trojan War. Even her similes are steeped in the culture, and Patroclus often compares things to olives (which makes my half-Greek self happy!)

I think writing from Patroclus’ POV was a brave choice, but it worked really well for the story as a whole. And I loved how Miller filled in the gaps of he and Achilles’s story. And their relationship is really the shining star of the book. Miller just poured emotion and chemistry and characterization into them.

The only thing that bothered me ***(small spoiler, but really, this story has been around forever) is that Achilles’ heel was taken from the story, and he dies in a different way. I understand why Miller changed it, but I think it’s such an iconic part of Achilles’ story that it felt a little off.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

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Alexis:

The Bone Houses is a historical fantasy novel, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite subgenres. It’s set in medieval Wales, and follows two main characters: Ryn, a gravedigger, and Ellis, a mapmaker.

Due to remnants of lost magic, the dead are rising in the forest neighboring Ryn’s small village of Colbren. She and Ellis, each for their own reasons, team together on a journey to eradicate the undead, known as bone houses.

I loved every page of this book. It was dark and gritty and full of death, but the characters were a joy to read, and the dialogue was great. I love dark books that take small scenes, small moments, to let the characters relax, enjoy themselves, and crack jokes.

This story is about home, family, and loss. I loved learning the stories and Welsh-inspired folklore of the world. I loved that Ryn’s sister’s pet goat became a main character; I’m a sucker for an animal sidekick!

Lately, it’s been a little rare for me to find two characters that I’ve enjoyed reading about and rooting for, but this book was it. And I haven’t read a lot of books lately with a cringeless romance, either. I appreciated the slow-burn romance in this book, and the fact that the characters actually took the time to become close friends first. It was a subplot, and it didn’t get in the way of the main story. It didn’t feel forced in the least!

And, finally, I loved that this story was well-written. Lloyd-Jones’ prose feels almost effortless to read, while also being lush and evocative.

“She was half a wild creature that loved a graveyard, the first taste of misty night air, and the heft of a shovel. She knew how things died. And in her darkest moments, she feared she did not know how to live.”

VERDICT: ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️/5

Review: Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

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Alexis:

I’ll be honest: this book wasn’t my favorite.

Synopsis: In the Lands of South Galle, Bone Criers are a myth, except to Bastien, whose father was killed by a beautiful woman in white when he was a kid. Bone Criers are young women who must lure their soulmates to them, only to kill them as a sacrifice. This rite of passage allows Bone Criers (or Leuress, as they call themselves) to become Ferriers. Ferriers ferry dead souls to the afterlife. 

Bastien vows to take revenge on the Bone Criers, only for him to end up as the soulmate to the same Bone Crier he’s trying to kill. Ailesse is trying to complete her rite of passage in order to one day become the matriarch when she becomes entangled with Bastien, even though she knows she’s destined to kill him.

The plot becomes more complicated from there, but the story is told from three different points of view: Bastien, Ailesse, and Sabine, Ailesse’s best friend.

I found the overall world and the fantasy worldbuilding really intriguing, and the idea of the Bone Criers— and their rites of passage, and the idea of grace bones (bones that the Bone Criers take from wild animals, which grant them certain abilities)—was awesome. The mythology, the lore, and the history, all based off of France, was interesting, and I appreciated the originality. 

Normally, I’m not a fan of more than two POV shifts, but I actually think Purdie did a great job.

There were three main aspects of this book that put me off. 

One: I had a hard time rooting for the characters. Bastien and Ailesse just weren’t interesting to me, and even though I knew their backstories and motivations, I didn’t really click with either character. They felt a little flat, and a lot of the secondary characters also fell flat.

That being said, Sabine was my favorite character. She had the most emotion, and she had the best character arc. 

Two: The romance felt forced. Obviously with the doomed soulmate storyline there was going to be some sort of forced romance, but my point is, there weren’t any real reasons for Bastien and Aliesse to fall for each other outside of: Oh, I think she’s hot. Oh, I think he’s hot. I didn’t think the chemistry was there.

Three: Even with the mythology and the in-depth look at the Bone Criers, I still found myself a little confused hundreds of pages in. I felt like some aspects of the Bone Criers were left unexplained, and so a lot of Ailesse’s solutions to problems felt like they came out of nowhere to me. I often found myself thinking: How does she know that will work? Overall, I thought the plot was good, but Ailesse and Marcel’s deductions just felt off to me. 

On top of that, Purdie’s writing wasn’t my favorite. Sometimes the dialogue felt a little too cheesy and predictable, and it took me about 100 pages in for me to start caring about the story.

Overall, this was just an okay read for me. 

VERDICT: 🌙🌙 and ½ moons /5 

 

Review: Deeplight by Frances Hardinge

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Alexis:

Hi, everyone. I’m finally done with my first year of grad school, and you know what that means– I get to read for fun again!

Deeplight starts out as a slow burn. At first, it turned me off a little bit, but I know Frances Hardinge; she’s one of my favorite authors! She is a masterful worldbuilder, and she spends the first 100 pages exploring the world of Deeplight and letting you dig into the mind of her characters in order to set up a powerful punch later.

Synopsis: Deeplight follows Hark, a fifteen-year-old boy who’s a little lost in the world. He just feels like a sidekick to his longtime friend, Jelt, until he’s put on trial for a crime and sold as an indentured servant. If you couldn’t tell from the front cover, the story is set on an island, called Lady’s Crave, where thirty years ago, the sea gods “turned on one another and tore each other apart.” If the islanders are lucky, they can find relics of the dead gods called “godware,” which are powerful and valuable. Hark just so happens to find a heart, which saves the life of Jelt. But when it starts to change Jelt, and not in a good way, Hark searches for answers with the help of a girl named Selphin and an old priest named Quest. 

I think this is the first book I’ve read by Hardinge that has a boy narrator instead of a girl. I will admit: I kind of wish the story was told from the perspective of Selphin, a girl he meets on his journey. I connected with her character a little more than Hark. 

The plot picks up a ton during the second half of the book, and I found myself really appreciating how she set up the world in the first half. Hardinge’s plot always goes in a direction I’m not expecting, and her books (including this one!) are always the epitome of fantasy, always delving deep into her dark, imaginative world and filling them with masterful descriptions. And this is why she’s one of my favorite authors!

I love the morally grey characters, and how Hardinge focuses on a toxic friendship, a topic not often explored in fantasy. I think the character arcs were great. Hardinge also created a world where deaf culture is normal and accepted, and the characters often use sign language to talk to each other. Overall, this book is a well-drawn, imaginative sea story that travels in unexpected, vivid directions. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 

 

Review: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

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Alexis:

“Through love, all is possible.”

Maas has a way of writing worlds that suck you in and make you want to keep reading. While this world is pretty similar to the one in ACOTAR, I loved how the world in Crescent City blends modern technology with magic; we don’t get enough fantasy with modern technology, and it was really interesting and fun to see the characters use both cell phones and magic. It was also loosely based off of Ancient Rome, which was cool.

I really enjoyed all of the characters. I liked reading from both Bryce and Hunt’s perspective. They both have a great mix of admirable traits and flaws. And, as usual, Maas is great at writing characters who have suffered from trauma with care.

The first half of this book did a great job setting up the world, the characters’ backstories, and establishing the main plot, while the second half was more fast paced and action packed. While a lot of readers find Maas’ build up slow, I enjoy how she spends time establishing the world and letting us know the characters before diving deeper into the plot. And I thought the plot of this book was intricate. Honestly, even though this book is so heavy on the details and it took me a while the get all the worldbuilding details straight, it was just so much fun to read!

My cons are pretty small. First, let me just say that if you don’t like Maas’ writing style, just don’t pick up the book? A lot of people seem to be giving this book bad reviews without even reading it because they aren’t fans of Maas’ writing.

I will say, thankfully, this book has considerably less drawn out sex scenes; it still has a decent amount of people flipping each other people off, and a lot of f-bombs, which didn’t bother me. I’m still not a fan of her character name choices (Bryce and Hunt? And I never got over Tamlin’s name from ACOTAR) but honestly, that’s such a small bone to pick, and it boils down to personal preference.

Even though I loved reading the ACOTAR series, I thought this book was far better written. I still don’t think her writing is the absolute best, but what she IS good at is writing characters you will want to root for, and writing worlds that you will become obsessed with. And despite the fact that this book is over 800 pages long, I barely wanted to take any breaks from reading it.

Bottom line: this was so much to fun to read! And considering the fact that the plot centers around a murder mystery, apparently murder mysteries are my new definition of “fun.”

VERDICT: 📚📚📚📚📚

 

Review: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

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Alexis:

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. I’m currently on an extended Spring Break, and my classes have all been moved online for the rest of the semester. While I’m bummed about that, it means I have more time to read and post on here. Without further ado, let’s start the review!

A dark, gothic fairytale retelling? Very up my alley!

Annaleigh lives in Highmoor, a manor on an island by the sea where the people worship a sea god. She used to be one of twelve sisters, but four of her sisters have died tragic deaths. When Annaleigh’s younger sister begins seeing ghosts, she believes that her last sister to die was actually murdered. In between dancing in myserious balls with her sisters, Annaleigh works to uncover the dark truth.

I really enjoyed this book! I it had a lot of twists and turns, and while I guessed two of the major plot points, the rest, particularly at the end, were great and surprising.

I loved the cast of sisters. They felt very Jane Austen to me, especially when they prepared to go to the balls. Craig’s descriptions of Highmoor and the world around them brought this fantasy world to life. I loved the octopus imagery and the descriptions of the sea. While most of this book was dark and gothic, there were fun ball and festival scenes in between. I also enjoyed learning about the gods and mythology of this world.

I should’ve known from the book’s description, but this book is full of (in-depth) murder and death. So if you’re not into any type of horror, then this isn’t for you.

My only critiques are that the romance was a little too underdeveloped and cheesy for my taste, and the dialogue in certain scenes felt a little flat. But if you’re looking for a fun fairytale read that doubles as a horror/murder mystery book, then pick this up! Its beautiful cover is never leaving my bookshelf.

VERDICT: 📚 📚 📚 📚 /5

Review: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

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Anna: I’m sorry to say that I was so disappointed by this! In the vein of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 read like a total money grab. I really enjoyed 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦, and in no way did 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 feel like its sequel. For one, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 lacks the tension and literary weight of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 in every way. ⁣

⁣𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 is slow-paced and slowly reveals the horror of the dystopian world of Gilead. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, on the other hand, is pace-y, dialogue heavy, and driven mostly by plot. It completely lacks the dark, creeping so prevalent in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦. ⁣

⁣Set fifteen years after 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 is told in three perspectives. There’s Agnes, who grows up in a prominent family in Gilead; Daisy; living in the free country of Canada; and, wait for it… the third is Aunt Lydia’s perspective. My biggest problem is Aunt Lydia’s storyline, which just wasn’t believable for me. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I just didn’t buy any of it. The other two perspectives were interesting enough. That is, until they started to overlap, which is where I really think this book fell apart. ⁣

⁣Unfortunately, I came away from this feeling that Atwood was forced into this book in response to the show. I’m so sad–I really wanted to love this!⁣

VERDICT: 3 stars

In the age of JK Rowling, who has exploited her wold and characters for everything that she can (disclaimer, I still love the original Harry Potter books), I feel that having a bestselling book or series isn’t enough any more.  The new Hunger Games book coming out this year, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is a prime example. It’s a prequel to the series that reveals the backstory of President Snow. I’m so over prequels and have no desire to read this. I think that sometimes there’s value in letting a good book or series stand on it’s own. I know things like book deals and an author’s career are part of this, but I think I’ll be avoiding any long-awaited add ons to old favorites for a while.