Tag: revenge

Review: Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

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Alexis holds Wild Reverence next to a pumpkin and a cat

Alexis:

Rebecca Ross’ lyrical writing style is my favorite, so it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed Wild Reverence. At no point did I know where this story was going, which I found really refreshing! ⁣⁣

Wild Reverence is set in the same world as Divine Rivals, which I was lucky enough to get an ARC of years ago and loved.

⁣⁣The story feels like a mix between Circe and A River Enchanted. It’s a beautiful, romantic mythology book. Just know that Rebecca Ross really loves keeping her love interests apart as often as possible 😂⁣⁣

It follows Matilda, a young messenger goddess, and Vincent, who wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life—begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. 

⁣⁣While this isn’t a perfect book, it has Ross’ beautiful descriptions and interesting worldbuilding, and the story tugs at the heartstrings. The first half took its time really establishing the world, the gods, and the characters, leaving a more action-packed second half. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣It’s part mythology, part revenge story, and a great prequel to Divine Rivals.

⁣⁣VERDICT: ⁣⁣🪽🪽🪽🪽🪽/5 

Review: The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis: Read 2/4/19

“There was a hunger in her, and girls were not supposed to be hungry. They were supposed to nibble sparingly when at table, and their minds were supposed to be satisfied with a slim diet too.”

The Lie Tree is both about revenge and finding yourself. It manages to be a murder mystery book while exploring themes of science vs. religion, paleontology, family, and, of course, lies.

The book follows Faith, the 14-year-old daughter of a reverend/scientist, who moves to an island with her family. Throughout the story, she struggles with being a complacent girl in 19th century England while battling her desire to be seen and heard as a person with a brain and scientific ambitions. This was my favorite part of the book. I loved reading about Faith’s navigation through 19th century society and ideals. I felt and understood her frustrations as she dealt with being called useless. I also appreciated that Hardinge explored how her petticoats and corset always got in the way; it just felt very real to me. And, as the book progressed, I loved reading about her showing off her cleverness and proving to her mother, and the men in the book, what she can do.

Faith’s character was a little hard for me to like. I rooted for her to win, even through her ill-fated motives and her willingness to lie. I thought that the unlikability of the characters served the dark nature of the story and the Lie Tree well. However, at times, I found the story hard to get through because of this, and also because the plot was a little slow. Despite this, Hardinge is still a poetic writer and I enjoyed her descriptions and the murder mystery storyline.

VERDICT: 3 ½ out of 5 books