I feel like I havenāt posted a review in ages! (In reality it hasnāt been that long, right?)
I read a lot of books while recovering from lung surgery, but I didnāt have the energy or urge to review a lot of them. It doesnāt help that spring has sprung early, bringing my allergies in full force along with it.
However, I recently read The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan and enjoyed it.
Synopsis:
The story has three different main characters and POVs: Aziza, Leo, and Tristan.
Aziza is a hedgewitch. She helps protect her town of Blackthorn, Massachusetts from all sorts of magical creatures and mischief.
Leo is cursed. On his sixteenth birthday, he was cursed to forget his true love, and now he feels the absence in his life and spends his free time searching for answers.
Tristan is lost. After being kicked out of his family home, he made a bargain with an evil hag, and now he finds himself not only doing her dirty work and bidding, but being a necromancer, as well.
Review:
This is definitely a very me story. It has a host of magical, whimsical creatures, but it also has a dark tone and deals with a lot of dark themes. It touches on topics such as homophobia, death, and memory loss.Ā
The main characters are all well-rounded and flawed. I love how this book has the found family trope but without feeling tropey at all. It has several plot twists that are well-done. And I like the LGBTQ representation.
My main critique is that the middle of the story dragged, and the slow pace meant that it didn’t do a great job of holding my attention. However, I really enjoyed both the beginning and the ending, and I think the ending set up for a fantastic sequel. I guess weāll see!
The last book I read was Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb.
I’m currently reading March & Feather by Emma Saska.
And I plan to read A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher next!
Review:
Seven Faceless Saints is a newly released YA fantasy that follows two main characters. Roz is a disciple of Patience, but sheās also a part of the brewing rebellion. Damian, her childhood sweetheart, is a young war veteran and the youngest captain in the history of Palazzo security.
Roz and Damian team up to solve a string of unsolved murders, even if they are both still heartbroken and at odds with one anotherā¦especially after Damianās father had Rozās murdered.
What I liked:
I love the dark atmosphere and the worldbuilding. The setting, the city of Ombrazia, is Italian-inspired, which works so well considering Ombraziaās citizens worship saints. Lobbās descriptions really set up the city as dark and gritty, but with moments of beauty.
I enjoyed the core of both Roz and Damianās characters. Iām a sucker for YA characters with tragic backstories that dictates their every move! Roz is hard-headed and angry, and Damian is a soft boy who struggles with PTSD from his time at war. Lobbās characterization of Damian is especially impactful; it really shows the horror of war and how it impacts young men.Ā
Iām also always down for a fantasy plot that centers around a murder mystery!
What I didnāt like as much:
Roz and Damian are full of ANGST. I love me some angsty teens, but I feel like this only worked well in the first half of the book. By the time I got to the second half, their explosive interactions felt as if they were going in circles, and their rollercoaster emotions gave me some whiplash. Itās a little too repetitive and over-the-top, even for me, and ends up overshadowing the rest of the story.
As for the saints themselves, the different groups of disciples remind me of the different factions in Divergent. I think part of the reason why is because we only get the bare bones of the religion. I need to know more about the saints and how the disciplesā magic works; I want to learn more!
The Genesis Wars is the sequel to The Infinity Courts, a YA sci-fi fantasy. The Infinity Courts was one of my favorite books of 2021, so Iāve been waiting to read the second one!
For context, the series follows a girl named Nami who was murdered. After she dies, she finds herself in the afterlife, which is called Infinity. There, she finds out that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife, made herself queen, and is enslaving humans. But when Nami finds a group of rebels, she works to take down Ophelia.
The Genesis Wars starts off a little slow. That being said, I’ve always loved Bowman’s writing style, and the beginning sets up even more worldbuilding thatās full of vivid imagery while building up Namiās character.
The second half of the book is all action, and it contrasts with the first half well! I loved getting to know the world of Infinity even more. I loved the character arcs, and I loved the two plot twists near the end. I especially loved the jaguar named Nix.
The only problem isā¦now I have to wait for the next book in the series!
Itās that time of year again! That time when we start thinking about everything we read in the past yearāwhat we loved, hated, and everything in between. This year, I revolutionized my reading by keeping a reading journal within my bullet journal. I kept notes there on each book I read. I found that this helped me internalize each book, think critically about the plot and writing style, and more clearly remember the books I read throughout the year.
Looking back on my reading in 2021, hereās what I found:
My top genres were mystery and thriller, which Iāve never read much of before this year. Many of my favorite books of the year fall into this genre, including my favorite series of the year, Tana Frenchās The Dublin Murder Squad and Anthony Horowitzās Susan Ryelandās series. In contrast, I also read some really bad thrillers and came to the conclusion I prefer crime/murder mysteries over physiological thrillers. Weāll see if this genre sticks!
I didnāt read much nonfiction at all, coming in with one essay collection, Disability Visibility, and just one memoir, Flesh and Blood by N. West Moss. I love memoirs, especially, so thatās something I want to read more of again in 2022!
Letās get to the best books I read this year, by genre but in no particular order:
Literary Fiction
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
Summary: In a world divided by a coup, climate disaster rages. The Rain Heron follows different characters as they try to survive as well as the appearance of a mythical rain hero.
Summary: Silvieās dad is an Ancient Britain/Iron Age enthusiast. He forces his family to spend 2 weeks a year living in the woods with an Archeology class and professor. This year, things change.
Favorite Quote: āWithout a house, it occurred to me, it is much harder to restrict a womenās movement. Harder for a man to restrain a woman.ā – page 59
This coming-of-age novel manages to have a conversation about misogyny and abuse in so little pages.
Content Warnings: Physical & Emotional Abuse
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
Summary: Three sisters grow up on an isolated island with their father and mother. Theyāve been told the outside world isnāt safe, and they are made to perform horrible experiments on each other. When men arrive from the outside world, they realize their parents might not be telling the truth.
Summary: This is a fictionalized account of William Shakespeareās family and the death of his son, Hamnet, during the Black Plague.
Warning: This book will make you cry. I loved the magical element and creative liberties OāFarrell took with Shakespeareās history.
Content Warnings: Death; Grief
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
Summary: Lifelong friends and penpals Eileen and Alice live very different lives. One is a wealthy, successful author post-mental health collapse and the other has been stuck in the same job for years. When they finally decide to visit each other, tensions mount.
Donāt come at me, Sally Rooney haters. No one writes characters, dialogue, and life like Sally Rooney. This is a beautiful novel about mental health, fame, and how friendships change over time.
Thriller & Mystery
The Likeness by Tana French
Summary: When a woman named Lexie is found dead, Detective Cassie Maddox, who looks just like her, goes undercover as Lexie.
This is my favorite of the Dublin Murder Squad books so far and has dark academia elements.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Summary: Drawing Master Walter Hartright teaches art at an estate and becomes intrigued by a crime and the mysterious presence of a woman in white.
This massive book is surprisingly readable and reminded me of my love for Victiorian fiction.
Like all Victorian fiction, there are themes of madness, surveillance, and lack of womenās agency in society.
Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
Summary: Tessaās word unravels when she finds out her sister is a member of the IRA.
This is a twisty novel about family, loyalty, and lies that helped contextualize the conflict in Ireland for me.
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Summary: Carly drops out of college and travels to the haunted town of Fell, New York to investigate the disappearance of her Aunt Viv 20 years earlier.
There are some really terrifying ghost scenes in this, but this is ultimately one of the most heartwarming thrillers Iāve ever read.
Content Warnings: Sexual abuse
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Summary: A woman, Cecily, disappears from Branlow Hall and the answer is hidden in a book by the late mystery writer Alan Conway. The family asks his ex-editor, Susan Ryeland, to find Cecily.
This book-within-a-book may be even better than the first book in this series! The plotting and double mystery is so cleverly written.
Young Adult
Yolk by Mary H.W. Choi
Summary: Jayne moves from Texas to New York for college and to flee from her first generation Korean parents. There she reunites with her older sister, June, who reveals she has cancer.
This is one of the most intense and emotional books Iāve ever read. Unlike other tear-jerker YA books that deal with cancer very badly, Yolk treats it with respect.
Content Warnings: Cancer; Eating Disorders
The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney
Summary: Following the death of her best friend, Rose struggles with PTSD. One day, trying to escape her grief, she ends up in a strange town that she canāt leave.
Warning: You wonāt have a clue whatās going on for the first 100 pages or so, but this book is so creative, emotional, and interesting that youāll want to keep reading. Itās all one big metaphor for PTSD.
The Ones Weāre Meant to Find by Joan He
Summary: In a futuristic world destroyed by climate change, Kasey searches for her lost sister, Cee.
This book asks big questions about science and humanity, such as, if we donāt act to save the world now, when will we? And, when will we hold big polluters responsible? But at the center of all this is the complicated relationship between two sisters.
The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold
Summary: A group of kids try to survive a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by flu flies.
I loved everything about this book. Itās about sacrifice, found family, hope, survival, and it had a huge twist that blew my mind.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danworth
Summary: Dual timelines one-hundred years apart follow creepy happenings and strange deaths at The Brookhants School for Girls.
Admittedly this book could have been a lot shorter, but this sapphic mystery includes some of the best characterization Iāve ever read in YA.
The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters
Summary: When Natashaās sister Rochelle disappears, she turns to the witchy girl, Della, who lives by the woods where she went missing.
Set in rural Tennessee, this is a really atmospheric and original fantasy/mystery with LGBTQ+ rep.
Fantasy
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Summary: A fantasy based on Pre-Columbian American mythology.
This is a complex, perfectly paced fantasy that follows multiple characters. One of the biggest problems I usually have with fantasy as an adult is the length, and this book didnāt lag for one second. Black Sun ended on a huge cliffhanger, and I canāt wait for the sequel.
Middle Grade
A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
Summary: When orphaned siblings Anna, Edmund, and William are forced to leave London during World War II, they make a pact to find a new family in the countryside. Instead, theyāre placed with several horrible families. Their only solace: the library .
If you liked: The War that Saved My Life
I binged this cozy middle grade treasure in one sitting. This is a great story about found family, the tenacity of children, and how books can save lives.
Happy reading! I’m excited to see what 2022 brings and hope that everyone has a great year, reading wise and otherwise.
Iāve been trying to read more sci-fi and dystopian, so I was excited when I won this book and got it in the mail!
The Ones Weāre Meant to FindĀ follows sisters Kasey and Cee. Cee is stuck on an abandoned island with nothing but a robot for company. She has amnesia, but she does remember her sister, Kasey, is out there somewhere. And she needs to find her.
Kasey is a 16-year-old STEM prodigy living in an eco-city, which is basically a city hovering in mid-air thatās an oasis from the rest of the polluted planet. She has always felt like a loner, and she canāt stop thinking about when Cee went missing.
I really liked how Kasey and Cee have opposite personalities. Cee is a caring, social butterfly, and Kasey the quiet loner; their characters are foils of each other, and it works well.
I read Heās debut novel, The Descendant of the Crane, and I feel like both her writing style and her characterization have improved! The pacing was great, and I enjoyed seeing the plot unfurl, along with a massive plot twist.
That being said, if Iām being honest, I sometimes wasn’t sure what was going on in Kaseyās chapters. Because sheās a scientist, her chapters contain a lot of science, and I had to re-read certain paragraphs, especially since He created the future science herself. I honestly feel like I need to just re-read the entire book to get a better picture, as I sometimes had a hard time picturing what the world looked like. I almost wanted more info dumps, because scientific and futuristic technology was thrown at the reader rather than explained.
I also had a bit of a hard time connecting with Kasey, as she often felt a little too unfeeling; however, I know that was intentional, so I didnāt let it affect my overall rating.
I was especially invested in Ceeās story and the mystery of her past. I loved the themes of humanity, sisterhood, and the environment. And not to mention, I love the cover!
Happy day after Christmas, everyone! If you celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful day despite this very strange year.
Now, Iām always down for a story with a spooky forest.
Winterwood follows Nora, a seventeen-year-old girl who comes from a long line of Walkers: women with witch-like powers who live next to the creepy Wicker Woods. Nora finds a lost boy named Oliver alive in the woods despite a massive snowstorm, and works to unravel the mystery of how he survived.
Things I liked:
I love Ernshawās writing. Itās lyrical and enchanting, reminding me of a dark fairy tale. It perfectly fits the lovely, cold, and haunted aesthetic of this book.
I loved the setting. Noraās house sounds homey and witchy, and I enjoyed the descriptions of it, alongside the forest, from Noraās perspective.
Things I didnāt like as much:
Besides Nora, I never felt like I got far enough below surface level with the other characters, and sometimes I couldnāt pin down motivations. Usually, I love dual perspectives, but I felt like Oliverās perspective didnāt reveal enough about him for me, and his amnesia didnāt help.
I loved the magic, but I wanted it to be talked about/explained even more. I never really understood how it worked, even with the many pages dedicated to the Walker ancestors.
While I loved Ernshawās writing, it was too repetitive sometimes. Even though it fits the nature of this story (by the end), and I usually love repetition, I think it was utilized just a little too much.
Lastly, I guessed one of the main plot reveals very, very early on, and itās already a slow-moving story. On top of that, the bookās conclusion felt a bit like a cop-out.
Despite that, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I sped through it. I love Earnshawās writing, and I look forward to reading her future books, where hopefully the plot and characters will be a little more refined.
Raybearer is an impressive novel. The worldbuilding, based off of West African folklore, is intricate, and I often had to re-read sections about the worldās history because it was so detailed. But Ifueko went above and beyond when it came to shaping her world, and even if I couldnāt always keep up, it made the world very real.
Thereās political intrigue, romance, magical creatures (including fairies), a found-family, and family drama.Ā
The writing was great, I loved the main characters (and Iām looking forward to getting to know them better in the sequel, since this first book was a little more plot/world-driven than character-driven) and I enjoyed being swept into this magical world.
I only have two small critiques, one being that I didnāt get to know some of the characters well enough, and the pacing was a little slow in the beginning. However, this book reads like an epic, and the beginning starts out when Tarisai is a child, so I guess that is to be expected, and once it picked up its pace, I didnāt care!
Even though Iām not usually as much of a fan of high fantasy as compared to contemporary fantasy, I was pleasantly surprised with the dense, intricate world Ifueko crafted, and the plot unfolded in ways I never would have predicted. I love books that surprise me, and this book surprised me in all the right ways.
I found this to be a unique and engaging read, and if youāre looking for your next well-drawn, diverse YA fantasy, then I recommend it!
Hi, everyone. Iām finally done with my first year of grad school, and you know what that meansā 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; sheās 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 whoās a little lost in the world. He just feels like a sidekick to his longtime friend, Jelt, until heās put on trial for a crime and sold as an indentured servant. If you couldnāt tell from the front cover, the story is set on an island, called Ladyās Crave, where thirty years ago, the sea gods āturned on one another and tore each other apart.ā If the islanders are lucky, they can find relics of the dead gods called āgodware,ā 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.Ā
I think this is the first book Iāve 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.Ā
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. Hardingeās plot always goes in a direction Iām 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 sheās 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.Ā
Iām finally getting to the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles series. Iām 300 pages in and completely swept up once again into Kvotheās story! I’m finding that it mimics the first book maybe a little too closely so far, but I’m excited to see the direction it goes. Will Patrick Rothfuss ever finish the third book?
Iām also loving We Are Okay, a novel thatās deep, character-driven, and introspective in a way that YA novels sometimes arenāt. I’m finding the slow pacing Ā a great contrast to an action-packed fantasy.
Anna: July was a crazy month for me! Work was super busy, but I also took a mini-vacation to the beach! My wedding is only three months away now and itās starting to feel so real!
Reading always helps me stay calm when thereās so much going on in my life. I also read a wonderful mix of genres this month!
5 stars:
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
4 stars:
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Hunger by Roxanne Gay
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Severance by Ling Ma
3 stars:
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (not pictured)
The Dry by Jane Harper
What were your July highlights, reading wise or otherwise?
takes two to book review 