This is Not a Ghost Story is a haunting tale, one where you don’t really know where up and down are or what is going on. You most definitely don’t know what is real and what isn’t and that is what makes it’s charm. However, there were some twists that took me aback which make me unsure how to rate this book. Hence, I am not going to give this one a star rating, just a written review.

Massive thanks to Harper360YA for sending me an ARC of This is Not a Ghost Story in exchange for a honest review. As usual, all opinions are my own.

PUBLICATION DATE: 17/11/20

SUMMARY: I am not welcome. Somehow I know that. Something doesn’t want me here.

Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansion for a wealthy couple.

But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.

What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle . . . and Daffodil is the key to settling it. (from Harper Teen)

OPINIONS: Ever since finishing This is Not a Ghost Story a couple of days ago I’ve been trying to figure out how I feel about it. I thought I knew what to write for most of the way through the book, and then the ending made me feel a completely different way about the story. I think I disagree with some of the fundamental messages that the ending itself sends, while I really enjoyed most of the book.

For the most part, This is Not a Ghost Story is a book about Daffodil, staying in a small town in the middle of nowhere, looking after a house. Except that a load of unexplainable things happen and you as a reader are captivated trying to figure out along with Daffodil whether something supernatural is going on or whether she is going crazy. This makes the book compelling and easy to read in a single sitting.

However, and this is where it might get a bit spoilery, so feel free to ignore this paragraph, the way the story resolved included some morals that I just don’t think I can go along with. The way love is portrayed as all-powerful and the ending is seen as rather positive keeps bugging me because I completely disagree. To me, it was upsetting, and I’m not sure if I would recommend the book to teens. As I said in the beginning, I haven’t been able to really pinpoint my feelings towards This is Not a Ghost Story ever since I finished reading it. It’s an odd one for sure, and it doesn’t help that I loved it for about 95% of the way.

If you want to have a read for yourself, you can add it to your Goodreads here, and pre-order a copy via Bookshop here. (affiliate link)

Here it is, my first review for a book out in 2021 (I think!). I’m so glad that this year is almost over and I thoroughly hope for a quiet 2021. But The Ravens starts the year off with a bang, and if this is anything to go off, we’re in for a great year reading-wise. Situating itself in that very top end of YA that really should be New Adult, The Ravens is a college-set mystery about a sorority of witches. And if that isn’t the ultimate temptation for guilty pleasure reading, I don’t know what is – and it’s also a fantastic book!

Many thanks to Kate Keehan and Hodder for the eARC of this wonderful novel, and as usual, all opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 4.5/5 ✶

PUBLICATION DATE: 05/01/21

SUMMARY: At first glance, the sisters of ultra-exclusive Kappa Rho Nu – the Ravens – seem like typical sorority girls. Ambitious, beautiful, and smart, they’re the most powerful girls on Westerly College’s Savannah, Georgia, campus. But the Ravens aren’t just regular sorority girls. They’re witches.

Scarlett Winter has always known she’s a witch – and she’s determined to be the sorority’s president. But if a painful secret from her past ever comes to light, she could lose absolutely everything…

Vivi Devereaux has no idea she’s a witch. So when she gets a coveted bid to pledge the Ravens, she vows to do whatever it takes to be part of the magical sisterhood. The only thing standing in her way is Scarlett, who doesn’t think Vivi is Ravens material.

But when a dark power rises on campus, the girls will have to put their rivalry aside to save their fellow sisters. Someone has discovered the Ravens’ secret. And that someone will do anything to see these witches burn . . . (from Hodder)

OPINIONS: I loved loved loved The Ravens. I stayed up late and read the whole book in a single sitting as the story was so captivating I simply needed to know how it ended. I think part of what I enjoyed was that it featured the university experience rather than the high school experience of much of YA, which again, feeds in the need for the industry to lean into a New Adult category. The characters were just this tad more adult in the crossover space, dealing with issues in a different way that how YA readers might be used to.

Another of my favourite aspects was the way the world was built around a magic based on tarot cards. And I’m kind of obsessed with tarot cards right now, so that’s right up my alley. In this world, every girl has the potential to be a witch, some stronger, and some less so, and those that end up in Kappa Rho Nu definitely have magic.

The Ravens is a story of magic, sisterhood, but also betrayal and the corruption caused by too much power. It is well-written, excellently paced and lives up to the expectations raised by the concept. I highly recommend picking up this wonderful book for a night of escapism. Although: trigger warning for a parent with terminal cancer, as that might be hard for some readers to stomach.

If you want to join Kappa Rho Nu yourself, you can do so on Goodreads here, and copies of The Ravens are available on Bookshop here. (Affiliate link)

Um, I’m a huge Shakespeare nerd. And a few years ago, my best friend whisked me away on an adventure to the magical city of Shanghai. So, These Violent Delights is right up my alley combining some of my favourite things, and you can bet I begged my ass off to receive a review copy. I’ve read it twice already and it’s not even out yet – that’s how much I love it.

Massive thanks to Kate Keehan and Hodder for sending me an ARC. As usual, all opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶

PUBLICATION DATE: 17/11/20

SUMMARY: The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang-a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love . . . and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns-and grudges-aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule. (from Hodder)

OPINIONS: This is so good. It is the most amazing debut novel and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Except maybe make it queerer, but a girl can’t have everything. It takes the best parts of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and turns them into its very own better version. The characters are nuanced and smart, flawed and growing, full of wishes and goals, striving towards their future.

The central romance between Juliette and Roma is slow burning and believable, hinging on the past and dealing with its fair share of issues, rather than falling into the tropes of insta-love that the original depends on. This is just one of the ways in which Chloe Gong has managed to improve on the Bard’s work. These Violent Delights is full of tension and feeling, not letting the reader catch their breath throughout the story. Its pacing is excellent, showing not only the author’s talent, but outstanding editing as well.

Additionally I loved the setting in colonial Shanghai. Recognising places from my own visit evoked a sense of nostalgia, while the book itself subtly addressed issues of colonialist ideology and landscape making the reader consider issues they might not have encountered before. These Violent Delights is many-layered and the reader discovers a new thread running through the story on each read.

I highly recommend These Violent Delights to anyone who has the slightest inclination towards YA and the various subgenres it addresses. Chloe Gong really is an author to watch and I can’t wait to keep reading her work. Add the book to your Goodreads here, and order a copy via Bookshop here! (I get a tiny commission from orders through the link, allowing me to keep up the site)

So, I’m massively struggling to actually finish and review books right now, hence the slow pace on here… But my self-isolation is finally over and the election limbo in the US seems to have dissolved positively, which means I’m giving this a shot! Ruinsong is a queer YA fantasy with a unique take on magic and a revolutionary bend, so perfect for the current climate.

Thank you to FSG and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of Ruinsong. All opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

PUBLICATION DATE: 24/11/20

SUMMARY: In a world where magic is sung, a powerful mage named Cadence has been forced to torture her country’s disgraced nobility at her ruthless queen’s bidding.

But when she is reunited with her childhood friend, a noblewoman with ties to the underground rebellion, she must finally make a choice: Take a stand to free their country from oppression, or follow in the queen’s footsteps and become a monster herself. (From Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)

OPINIONS: Ruinsong has one of the most exciting and unique concepts of magic in YA right now. Magic is expressed through music, but is connected to both innate talent and craft – sort of like opera singing. While it can be used for good such as healing, it is most often used for purposes of oppression by the regime and heavily regulated. Mixed in with this is a slow (and I mean, slowest) burn wlw romance between two old friends who reconnect in the worst of circumstances.

However, knowing that this was a wlw fantasy, I expected more on this front. I knew it was coming, but I only saw a couple of hints throughout the book before things happened, and I was hoping for more tension and chemistry. I generally felt that the pacing in Ruinsong did not quite work for me. It took almost half the book to get the story going properly, and major events happened very quickly in the last twenty percent or so. I would have preferred if the pacing was quicker in the beginning, leaving more space in the second half for character and plot development.

It generally feels like I was intrigued by the concept of Ruinsong more than by its ultimate execution. I’m very glad that I got to read it, but I don’t think that I will be returning to it. For me personally, it seems that there could have been more made out of the elements in the story, but I am curious to see what Julia Ember comes up with next and to see how her craft develops in future.

If you would like to follow the siren song of Ruinsong for yourself, add it to your Goodreads here, and pre-order it from Bookshop here (I get a tiny commission allowing me to keep up the site if you order through the link).

So, remember me gushing about The Binding ages ago? Like back in normal times in 2019? No? Well, check out my review here. And now Bridget Collins is back with a new novel: The Betrayals is almost out, and it’s just as beautiful. And your girl somehow managed to convince the publisher to send her an ARC so she could read it early and tell you all about how great it is!

Many thanks to Ann Bissell and Borough Press for the ARC of The Betrayals. All opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶

PUBLICATION DATE: 12/11/20

SUMMARY: At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has changed since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu’s highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he’s sure they have never met before.

Both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls… (from Borough Press)

OPINIONS: The Betrayals has a relatively slow start. It takes the reader a while to get situated at Montverre and accept that they will likely never understand the grand jeu. Because, while the grand jeu as a concept is crucial to the book, understanding it is not relevant. What I do think readers also need to be aware of is that The Betrayals is utterly and completely different to The Binding. Both are gorgeously written and brilliant stories, but need to stand on their own. I think that there might be quite a few readers who loved The Binding who will not enjoy The Betrayals simply because the subject matter is very different, the characters are older and the tone is more literary.

Personally I loved The Betrayals. Once I got into it, I couldn’t stop reading and I ended up reading the second half in one sitting. Both Léo and Claire are multi-layered, complex characters aware of their own shortcomings and trying to better themselves. Once the story starts coming together it is glorious. There is politics, there is intrigue, there is so much intellectual smugness it is amazing and horrible at the same time. I think The Betrayals might even count as dark academia, which is completely in trend right now.

I highly recommend you add The Betrayals to your Goodreads here, and order it from Waterstones here (or, even better, support your indie of choice and order it directly from them!).

Good old YA! Court of Lions was one of those books I just raced through once I finally started it. It’s the sequel to 2019’s Mirage though sadly with a completely new, non-matching cover… I’m torn about the re-design because I loved the old cover, but then, having Black girls on covers is visibility and should always be supported. So, maybe, have them there from the start? Anyway, you didn’t come here to read me ramble about cover design (can you tell I just wrote a big chunk of my dissertation about girls on covers?), but to read my review…

Many thanks to Hodder and Kate Keehan for sending me an eARC for review, as always all opinions are my own!

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 06/08/2020

SUMMARY: After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess’s body double, has been forced into complete isolation. The cruel but complex princess, Maram, with whom Amani had cultivated a tenuous friendship, discovered Amani’s connection to the rebellion and has forced her into silence, and if Amani crosses Maram once more, her identity – and her betrayal – will be revealed to everyone in the court.

Amani is desperate to continue helping the rebellion, to fight for her people’s freedom. But she must make a devastating decision: will she step aside, and watch her people suffer, or continue to aid them, and put herself and her family in mortal danger? And whatever she chooses, can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram’s fiancé, Idris? (from Hodder)

OPINIONS: So, this is North African inspired. Set in space. AND there is a f/f romance. And all the great things from Mirage continue on in Court of Lions. Oh, and revolution. I think I enjoyed this second installment more than I did the first, but then, it’s been a while. I would definitely recommend Court of Lions. The characters are nuanced, the world building is excellent and I like the writing style. The duology is unique in concept, while still hitting the mark for comfortingly familiar YA tropes.

Both the relationships featured in Court of Lions are well-crafted and avoid the pitfalls of insta-love or unreasonable over-commitment. Although, there is an element of arranged marriage to the book, but that is a trope that I kind of adore…

So, short review today, book I recommend. Add Court of Lions to your Goodreads here, and order a copy from Waterstones here, or your retailer of choice.

The tagline for Shadow in the Empire of Light is “Magic. Murder. Mayhem. But keep it in the family.” When I read that, I knew immediately that I needed to get this book into my eyeballs as soon as possible. This is the story of Shine, the non-magical member of a magical family, a gothic noir featuring intrigue, drama and a telepathic cat.

Many thanks to Rebellion Publishing and Hanna Waigh for sending me an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 06/08/2020 (ebook); 21/01/2021 (paperback)

SUMMARY: Shine’s life is usually dull: an orphan without magic in a family of powerful mages, she’s left to run the family estate with only an eccentric aunt and telepathic cat for company.

But when the family descend on the house for the annual Fertility Festival, Shine is plunged into dark intrigue; stolen letters, a fugitive spy, and family drama mix with murder, sex and secrets, and Shine is forced to decide both her loyalties and future… (from Solaris)

OPINIONS: I loved the concept of Shadow in the Empire of Light. I really got into the first hundred or so pages, but once that first thrill of concept started waning, I noticed my interest waning. It ultimately took me quite a long time to actually finish reading the novel. The writing style turned out not to be fully my cup of tea. While reading, I was fully convinced this was a debut novel based on the writing, so I was quite surprised to find that the author had published a few novels already and won awards for her writing (although, do note that I did not read a finished copy, so some of what tripped me up might have been smoothed over in the final product).

The characters were interesting and irreverent, fitting well into the genre of the book, and I especially loved the cat, Katti. I did get tripped up by the unusual character names a few times – I was very glad to have the character table in the front of the book to refer back to throughout. Shadow in the Empire of Light was also certainly full of twists that I did not see coming, surprising me throughout my read. I wish the writing had worked better for me so that I would have been able to enjoy it more.

If you are intrigued, you can add it to your Goodreads here, or pre-order a copy from Waterstones here.

Like so many noughties kids, I grew up with Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle (the Eragon books). It is now quite a few years later both for me as a reader and for him as an author, so when To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was announced, I was intrigued. It is a complete departure from epic dragon-based young adult fantasy to adult space opera, although Paolini has not lost his tendency towards massive tomes. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is not for those afraid of big books – it clocks in at around 860 pages!

Many thanks to Jamie-Lee Nardone, Stephen Haskins and UK Tor for sending me a copy for review. All opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 3.5/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 15/09/2020

SUMMARY:

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds
Now she’s awakened a nightmare

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope . . .

OPINIONS: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars opens strong, very strong, but then drags on for a long time. It feels like almost the entire first half of the book is more exposition and set-up than true story. There are some amazing moments in the book – I especially loved the punny jokes and the candid discussion of periods, but as a whole, I did feel let down. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is at least a couple hundred pages too long and could have benefited from some ruthless editing and trimming down.

Other than that, the universe Paolini creates for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is interesting and faceted. The book is set in a future where space travel and exploration is as common to humans as air travel once was to us (oh, pre-pandemic times…). Kira, the main character, is a xenobiologist on a colonising mission, when a routine task leads to contamination with an alien specimen. This turns out to be sentient, calls itself the Soft Blade, and bonds with her as a sort of skin suit.

Despite the many lengths of the novel, it feels like the emotional repercussions of much of what happens are not addressed enough and there is constant forward momentum, even when Kira ends up with ample time to ponder and evaluate. I feel like the book could have been so much more. That is not to say it is bad – it is unique, it is interesting, it is ambitious, and it has an ending that is ambiguous and open to interpretation. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars has a lot going for it. I just think it could have been better.

If you would like to read Kira’s story for yourself, add To Sleep in a Sea of Stars to your Goodreads here, or order it from Waterstones here!