Tag: Mythology

Review: Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

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A Kindle copy of Spice Road sits on a bookshelf next to a tea tumbler and a box of tea samplers.

Alexis:

Dune meets An Ember in the Ashes

Spice Road is a YA fantasy that follows Imani, a Shield warrior with an affinity for iron. When she discovers her supposedly dead brother is actually alive, she ventures outside of her homeland, the hidden desert city of Qalia, to bring him home. Outside the city limits, she discovers a world that she never knew existed, and grapples with her worldview, herself, her understanding of her brother, and the group she travels with. 

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding. Ibrahim does a great job describing the lush world. I love her use of sensory imagery, especially smell. It brings the world to life.

I love the tea magic! The people of Qalia access their affinity through drinking misra, a tea that allows them to access their magic. The first line of the book is, “We will fight, but first we will have tea.” Which is awesome.

I also really enjoyed the themes that Ibrahim presents. One of the main themes is truth and honesty, as Imani deals with the many lies she’s been told over the years. Another main theme is colonialism, which comes into play in the latter half of the book. I also appreciated the emphasis on family as Imani struggles to handle her rebellious little sister and hold onto hope that her brother is alive and well.

My favorite character is Qayn, a djinni that becomes Imani’s ally. He is the most complex and expressive character of the bunch, and I’m interested to learn more about him and his past!

But unfortunately, I didn’t like Imani’s character. She starts out as very naive and bullheaded…and ends the story being slightly less naive and bullheaded. She tends to be downright mean to anyone who helps her in the slightest and makes a lot of really dumb decisions. It doesn’t help that she’s also known as the Djinni Slayer…but besides obviously slaying a lot of djinni, we don’t really get an insight as to how she got that nickname at the age of seventeen. She also has a very confusing and lackluster enemies-to-lovers romance with a character who accompanies her on her journey. 

I found her to be unlikeable in general, and I had to push through certain chapters because I wasn’t rooting for her the way I should. However, I really loved the tea magic, the Arabian-inspired world, and the mythology aspects of Spice Road. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐ 💫


Special thanks to Delacorte Press for sending me an e-arc for review.

Spice Road is expected to be published on January 24, 2023!

Review: The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

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Alexis stands in front of a gate in front of a forest, holding up a paperback copy of The Wolf and the Woosdman

Alexis:

What an amazing debut! When I first heard about this book, I knew I needed to get my hands on it.

It’s based on Hungarian history and Jewish mythology. The story follows Evekie, a so-called wolf-girl who lives in a pagan village in the middle of a forest. Every couple of years, the Holy Order of the Woodsmen come to collect a wolf-girl to bring back to their king, and this year, they come for Evekie. But Evekie soon realizes that the captain is actually the prince Gaspar, who’s trying to keep his bastard, blood-lusting brother from taking the throne and causing genocide. And Gaspar soon realizes that Evekie is not what she seems: she’s the only wolf-girl who’s barren of magic. 

This book has pretty much everything I look for in a story. I’m a sucker for creepy forests, and not only do the woods in this story have dark magic and creepy monsters, but walking trees! The story is rich with stories and a tangle of three different religions. The plot and the religions echo history, and the Yehuli people are a stand-in for the Jewish people, which makes the story all the richer and more meaningful. 

I loved that Evekie is 25; I’m always on the hunt for more new adult stories. I loved the Prince Zuko vibes of Gaspar, and the way their relationship often reminded me of Jon Snow and Ygritte from Game of Thrones. 

I haven’t even talked about Reid’s writing yet! Her prose is absolutely gorgeous and lyrical. Even when she’s writing about dismemberment and blood (which happens quite often, as the plot of this book is brutal) her writing is still beautiful. The way she carves images and the landscape on the page is *chef’s kiss*. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TW: Self mutilation, abuse/child abuse, animal harm/death, murder, war, coded-antisemitism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, amputation

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 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: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Alexis:

I read Gods of Jade and Shadow while I was on the beach yesterday. It’s currently storming, so I’m inside writing this review!

In Gods of Jade and Shadow, eighteen-year-old Casiopea Tun lives in Mexico in the 1920’s. But her town is small and traditional, and she lives in her grandfather’s house, where she is forced to serve him and his grandson, Martín. But one day, she opens a locked box in her grandfather’s room and unleashes the Mayan god of death: Hun-Kamé. Together, Casiopea and Hun-Kamé go on a journey to reclaim Hun-Kamé’s throne from his brother in Xibalba: The Underworld. 

In a lot of ways, this book defies genres. It’s a mix of Mayan mythology, magical realism, and historical fiction. I love all of the different elements thrown together; it makes for such a rich and interesting culture and setting. Moreno-Garcia crafts a dark and mythic world.

I love Casiopea’s character, and I enjoyed following her journey. She’s such a strong character who, even though she’s a little lost in the world, knows who she wants to be. She’s determined and strong-willed but caring and righteous, and I enjoyed getting to know her. 

I also enjoyed reading about the character of Hun-Kamé. I loved how the author described him and wrote him as a complex god who tried his best to figure out Casiopea as well as his brother. 

This is one of those books that’s full of memorable lines. 

“Dreams are for mortals.”

“Why?”
“Because they must die.” (121).

“Is that why you stare at stars?” he asked. “Are you searching for beauty or dreaming with your eyes wide open?” (122). 

“Words are seeds, Casiopea. With words you embroider narratives, and the narratives breed myths, and there’s power in the myth. Yes, the things you name have power.”

I loved the author’s descriptions, and I loved reading about Casiopea and Hun-Kamé’s journey.

VERDICT: 5 stars 

Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

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Alexis:

I was a little hesitant to read The Star-Touched Queen. I had high hopes for Roshani Chokshi’s newest book, The Gilded Wolves, which came out earlier this year. And unfortunately, that book fell short for me.

The Star-Touched Queen takes place in two fantasy kingdoms called Bharata and Akaran. When main character Maya turns seventeen, her father, the Raja of Bharata, seeks to marry her off in her order to bring peace to his kingdom. The land of Bharata believes in horoscopes, and Maya’s horoscope speaks of death and a doomed marriage. When Maya is forced to choose a husband, she chooses a cloaked king named Amar who takes her to his strange and empty kingdom of Akaran.

The story that follows is a blend of Hades and Persephone and Beauty and the Beast.

This book claims to be YA fantasy, and despite the almost-insta-love, I found it to be so much more than that. Chokshi’s writing borders on magical realism. She blends reality with mythology in a way that might annoy or confuse some readers. But it is Neil Gaiman-esque in a way that I love. Chokshi’s writing shines in her worldbuilding, magical descriptions, and in her dialogue. Her writing is otherworldly and atmospheric.

This book is full of Indian mythology and folklore, including strange creatures and reincarnation. Chokshi weaves kingdoms together and writes dark, death-like imagery, with large sprinklings of magic throughout.

I want to give this book 5 stars, but it’s not quite there. While I was completely absorbed by the story and the world, Maya and Amar’s characters are lacking. Maya’s main characteristic is that she no longers wants to be shunned, and she wants freedom. While I like this about her, I never felt like I had a full grasp of her personality, not to mention what she wants or doesn’t want in life. While Amar is an interesting character, again, I feel like Chokshi never gives him enough of a personality.

However, this is the first book in a series, so I hope later books give Maya and Amar a chance to build into rounder characters. However, I noticed that the next books in the series don’t even focus on Maya and Amar.

I loved this book, I just wish Chokshi’s character development was better!

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VERDICT: 4 stars

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

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Alexis: Read 4/16/19

Why do I always really enjoy the first half of a book, only to really dislike the second half? That’s how I felt about Cruel Beauty.

Cruel Beauty is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I’m a fan of fairytale retellings, and I actually took a seminar on Beauty and the Beast while I was in college. But what’s different about this retelling is that it blends the fairytale with Greek and Roman mythology and history.

The story is set sometime after the fall of Rome in Romana-Graecia, in a fictional land called Arcadia that was cut off from the rest of the world and held captive underground by the Gentle Lord. The Gentle Lord makes cruel bargains with the people of his land and sometimes sets his demons on them. The Greek and Roman influence was an interesting change of pace, as the original Beauty and the Beast story is from France. I love Greek mythology, and I loved the mix of Latin and Greek terms, history, and terminology. The stories told in the book took me back to my Latin classes.

In this book, the magic is called the Hermetic arts. The main character, Nyx, was trained by her father in this art, which is connected to the four elements. Nyx can use sigils to sort of control the “hearts” of each symbol. While this sounds interesting, not only was the magic never explained any deeper, but it was never useful in the story.

Here’s a basic outline of the plot: When Nyx’s parents couldn’t have children, Nyx’s father made a bad bargain with the Gentle Lord. Nyx’s mother bore twins but died in childbirth. The Gentle Lord required that Nyx be married to him, while Nyx’s sister could live free for the rest of her life. So the book opens up with Nyx marrying the Gentle Lord, who’s also called Ignifex.

I really did enjoy the first half of the book. All of the original aspects of Beauty and the Beast are there: the roses, the mirror, the enchanted castle, the question every night, and a beastly prince of sorts. Nyx’s mission is to kill Ignifex in order to save her land from his terrible reign. The first half focuses on her exploring the castle and trying to find its Hermetic hearts, which was my favorite part of the story.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Nyx, who mostly complained about her tragic fate and battled with her intense hate for her family and Ignifex. But I appreciated that she was a strong female character who made her own choices and expressed her strong emotions. Her relationship with her sister was weird, and as a twin myself, it didn’t feel like a true twin relationship, though some of it was intentional due to the characters’ circumstances. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters except for Shade.

As for the second half, there’s a really weird love triangle that didn’t work for the story. The plot starts to go downhill and then becomes convoluted. Nyx and Ignifex’s relationship is abusive, with Nyx hitting him basically every chapter and Ignifex being emotionally abusive. Nyx remembers an important plot-point only to forget about it until the very end, which was supremely annoying. There’s no clear antagonist. And the ending has a weird alternative time thing that’s even hard to describe.

I obviously have a lot of thoughts about this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the first half and disappointed in the second half. If the ending was different, this would’ve been a solid read!

VERDICT: First half: 4 stars

Second half: 2 stars

Total: 3 stars

Review: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

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Alexis: Read 1/25/19

I couldn’t help but compare The Gilded Wolves to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The heist plotline and the similarities in the gang of characters made it impossible. Prepare for a long review; I have a lot to say about this book!

Pros:

The Gilded Wolves is packed with detailed information. The story is set in an alternative 1889 Paris in which certain people can Forge, or magically manipulate objects, metals, and/or plants, etc. I have to admit Paris is not one of my favorite cities, but I really enjoyed the setting for the book. Chokshi did a great job of exploring the city’s history, both the good and the bad, and I thought she described the city well. Her descriptions of the Eiffel Tower, mostly from Zofia’s point of view, were unique and interesting.

I enjoyed reading the snippets of Séverin’s past. Overall, Zofia was my favorite character because of her uniqueness. Plus, it was refreshing to read about a woman scientist and mathematician.

This book is an interesting mix of history, science, and mythology. I really enjoyed the mythology, as the book explored Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology. I loved the diversity of the characters; it painted a more accurate portrayal of Paris in 1889 and helped give the characters unique backgrounds and perspectives. I also enjoyed Chokshi’s descriptions and appreciated that she tackled themes of racism, prejudice, and identity.

Cons:

Though the voices of the characters were each distinct, I only really started caring about Zofia and Enrique once I reached the halfway point of the book. They felt the most real to me. There was a death at the end of the book, and, unfortunately, I didn’t find myself caring about it as much as I wanted to.

I wasn’t really a fan of Hypnos. Though I appreciated the diversity his character brought, he felt like a stereotypical gay character to me, and I had a hard time understanding his motives and his character.

Though I loved the blend of topics, sometimes this book felt more sci-fi to me than historical fantasy. I also felt like the book wasn’t as deep as I wanted it to be. I almost wish Chokshi will write a prequel to this; a lot of events happened before the start of this book.

I have to mention that it took me a while to get into the story. The beginning was a little too chaotic, and I found myself having to re-read paragraphs to make sure I understood what was happening. The Order confused me. I also felt like the climax of the book was a bit rushed. Though I enjoyed Chokshi’s writing style, the overabundance of adverbs irritated me (that’s my English major coming out!) “‘You lied to me,’ she said loudly.” “‘Ready?’ she said brightly.” “‘I know,’ said Hypnos solemnly.”

Despite my issues with the book, I did enjoy reading it, so. . .  

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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Alexis: Read 1/9/19

Children of Blood and Bone, despite being a thick book, is super fast-paced. The plot is always moving, which I appreciated as I read. Adeyemi does a good job of explaining how the magic system works, and I enjoyed learning about all the gods and the maji’s connections to them. Sometimes multiple perspectives can be hard to pull off, but I really enjoyed reading from all the different perspectives, and the shifts never pulled me out of the book.

As for the characters, I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge fan of Zélie. She sometimes felt like a Katniss Everdeen character. However, I connected more with her as the book went on. I enjoyed Inan’s character until about halfway through the book. As for Amari and Tzain, I always enjoyed reading from their points of view. At times, the plot was a bit predictable, but not enough that I didn’t continue to enjoy reading the story. There was a love-at-first-sight storyline, and though I normally hate this YA trope, I thought Adeyemi used it to her advantage.

About a quarter way through this book, I realized something: parts of this book mirror Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Zélie is very similar to Katara. When she is young, her mother is killed in a raid because she possessed magical powers. Zélie possesses these same powers and she grows up wanting revenge. She has an older, non-magical brother, Tzain, who just wants to protect her. Zélie meets an Aang-like character, Amari: a girl who was trained how to fight from an early age, but who needs to learn to get past her peaceful side.

Amari’s older brother, Inan, the prince, has a good heart but is misguided. He wants his father’s approval but he has to betray those he loves in order to achieve it, just like Zuko. The father is definitely a Fire Lord Ozai type of character.

There is a temple “made of air” which connects maji to their gods. This temple was mostly destroyed in a raid in which a genocide happened.   

Despite these similarities, Children of Blood and Bone is an original book. I I loved the diversity and the magic based on Nigerian mythology. I also admired Adeyemi’s creativity—the characters ride on giant, horned lions and leopards, called lionaires and snow leoponaires.

Overall, this book was wholly engrossing and I had a hard time putting it down. And for that reason I can’t rate it any less than 5 books. I’m excited for the sequel!

VERDICT: 5 books