If we’re being honest, I have an essay I need to be writing rather than blog posts, but oh, are they so much more fun to think about! I finished this twisted mash-up of fairy-tales and urban fantasy this morning and couldn’t resist writing about it immediately. Another one from NetGalley, with thanks to Transworld for the advance copy, and a disclaimer that all opinions are my own.

RELEASE DATE: 06/02/2019

STAR RATING: 3.5/5 ✶

SYNOPSIS:

There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of sisters Grimm on Earth.
You may well be one of them, though you might never know it.

This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire.

They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again.

In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die.

You’ll have to read on to find out who and why . . .

OPINIONS:

This book had an incredibly unique concept and gave new life to the fairy-tales of the Brothers Grimm. Sadly, it was at times lacking in execution, and lost its momentum in tangents, posing more questions than it answered and leaving many strands unraveled. It is the story of four girls told in fragments, and two timelines – I read this as an eARC, so I’m not sure quite how fast the viewpoints change on paper, but I would estimate once every couple of pages on average. Therefore, it will likely confuse many readers, and take quite a bit of time to get into for most people. This is not something I mind too much, but in this case, it led to a loss of urgency.

Every time it felt like one of the girls was heading towards growth or confrontation, the PoV switched, and by the time it returned, the situation had changed. This also meant that it was hard to empathize with them, and choices that were made/things that were revealed towards the end had me scratching my head, as it felt rather clichéd.

Nevertheless, it was a very well-paced read that kept one glued to the page and provided a great and unique concept. It is worth picking up and making up your mind about yourself.

Add it on Goodreads, and pre-order it from Book Depository or your retailer of choice!

After I had reviewed the Fever King last year, it kind of stuck around in my head, and I thought of it quite a lot. I’m not obsessing about books, ever, nope, totally healthy human being here, yuuup. It was definitely in the top five of 2019 for me, impact wise. So I was very excited to get approval for the Electric Heir on Netgalley, and oh, was I in for a treat! While the Fever King was good, I couldn’t put its sequel down, nor get my head out of the story…

RELEASE DATE: 17/03/2020

STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶

SYNOPSIS: Six months after Noam Álvaro helped overthrow the despotic government of Carolinia, the Atlantians have gained citizenship, and Lehrer is chancellor. But despite Lehrer’s image as a progressive humanitarian leader, Noam has finally remembered the truth that Lehrer forced him to forget—that Lehrer is responsible for the deadly magic infection that ravaged Carolinia.

Now that Noam remembers the full extent of Lehrer’s crimes, he’s determined to use his influence with Lehrer to bring him down for good. If Lehrer realizes Noam has evaded his control—and that Noam is plotting against him—Noam’s dead. So he must keep playing the role of Lehrer’s protégé until he can steal enough vaccine to stop the virus.

Meanwhile Dara Shirazi returns to Carolinia, his magic stripped by the same vaccine that saved his life. But Dara’s attempts to ally himself with Noam prove that their methods for defeating Lehrer are violently misaligned. Dara fears Noam has only gotten himself more deeply entangled in Lehrer’s web. Sooner or later, playing double agent might cost Noam his life.

OPINIONS: First of all, these books are AMAZING, and everyone needs to read this duology. It’s a crime that they haven’t been published in the UK yet, and I keep pushing them at everyone asking me for SFF with LGBTQIA+ rep – they address so many issues on different layers of the story and do it incredibly well. These books are like an onion of representation to pick apart and enjoy while making you think and consider the individual issues both by themselves and in combination. I can’t remember if the same thing was the case with The Fever King, but I really appreciate how content warnings were handled in The Electric Heir – there is a note at the front saying that the book contains potentially triggering content, and that more information could be found in the back. This makes it obvious, and clear where to find detailed information for those who need it and invalidates any ‘spoiler’ arguments that people seem to keep having against trigger warnings.

The Electric Heir picks up six months after the end of The Fever King. Everyone’s situation has changed, and traumatizing, atrocious things have happened to both Noam and Dara. They are still teenagers, still growing up and figuring out who they are in the middle of everything going on, and both struggle heavily with admitting that events have affected them and that they might need help. Victoria Lee manages to write their trauma extremely well, making them lose none of their humanity or letting anything seem overdone. They, and their supporting cast, are well-nuanced, growing characters with tangible moral compasses, struggling to figure out how to navigate a broken world and difficult situations, while fighting someone who might be one of the creepiest villains I have ever encountered: Calix Lehrer and his powers of mind control.

In short, add this book on Goodreads now, and pre-order it from your retailer of choice ASAP – Book Depository link as usual is here!

I’ve been in love with meta-storytelling at the latest since Shakespeare’s prologue to Henry V. So when Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood was published, I couldn’t have been more excited! I enjoyed her take on stories breaking free of their pre-determined paths, and taking over the ‘real world’ as it were, but I didn’t fall in love as much as I was expecting to. Still, I jumped at the chance to review book two for Penguin UK, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the opportunity!

RELEASE DATE: 09/01/2019

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

SYNOPSIS: Alice has fought hard for a normal life. Having escaped the Hinterland – the strange, pitch-dark world she was born into – she has washed up in New York City, determined to build a new future for herself.

But when her fellow survivors start being brutally murdered, Alice must face the fact that the Hinterland cannot be so easily escaped. And that, from the shadows of her past something – or someone – is coming for her…

OPINIONS: While the characters in book one seemed to fall a bit flat, Alice in the Night Country developed more depth and humanity – which made a lot of sense with the story development. The more time the story characters from the Hinterland spent in the ‘real’ world, the more especially Alice assimilated and grew, even if not all of them fit in very well. The relationships are depicted poignantly, using very few words, showing rather than telling. The growth in craft between Melissa Albert’s first and second books is clear and admirable!

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story, which was extremely well crafted, with reveals that made sense in the context of the story, but were not immediately obvious to the reader from the get-go. I do have one caveat, my pet peeve, where characters were being secretive to protect others they care about, and as soon as they opened up, things became a lot clearer as information was shared.

Also the Night Country is way too creepy. I don’t mean the book, I mean the concept. Trust me. Read the book and tell me I’m wrong. Add it on Goodreads, and pre-order it from Book Depository or your retailer of choice!

For years, friends have been raving at me about how great Brandon Sanderson’s books are, and I’ve been resisting for far too long. I’ve always had too many books on my TBR to get into another author who writes epic fantasy, and to be honest, when I read Skyward last year, I liked it, but not as much as I was expecting to, given how beloved an author he seemed to be in my network. As it seemed to be a fairly new genre for him, I was still very keen to continue the series with Starsight. So I jumped at the chance to review this wonderful book for Gollancz – any opinions are entirely my own, and I am very grateful to Gollancz and Stevie Finegan especially for providing me with a review copy!

RELEASE DATE: 26/11/2019

STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶

SYNOPSIS: All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing. The rumours of his cowardice are true – he deserted his flight during battle against the Krell. Worse, though, he turned against his team and attacked them.

Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars – and it was terrifying. What she learned turned her world upside down. Everything Spensa’s been taught is a lie.

But Spensa also learned a few things about herself – and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

OPINIONS: While Skyward still had to do a lot of the set up of a new sci-fi universe, and a second world planet with its associated human society, Starsight was able to reap all the benefits from its prequel and dive right into the action. I do feel like the two books very much have a prequel – sequel relationship than necessarily a more traditional series structure: Starsight could very well be read apart from Skyward, as it mainly takes place in a mission setting, with a new cast of characters. So if you accidentally picked up Starsight only to realise it’s book two, don’t worry, read it anyway, you can always catch up later! These books are rather fast paced and very thrilling reads, so they do basically read themselves.

As book two mainly takes place on an interspecies space station, Starsight, it includes far more diversity. We encounter a variety of different species, from the enemies known from Skyward, the Krell, to the Dione, a species that reproduces by literally combining the parents for months to ‘try out’ a potential child, to the Kitsen, a tiny furry people, reminiscent of very intelligent Ewoks, that just recently moved from monarchy to democracy, to just name a couple. As this also leads to a lot of species-based bias, the topic of intelligence and development is a big one, as is aggression.

The Krell and the Dione seem to be the leaders of this galactic alliance, and claim a peaceful nature for themselves, while attributing aggression to humans. But what makes a species peaceful or aggressive? And what behaviours are acceptable to protect one’s goals? These and many more questions like them are at the centre of this novel and make the reader think, and link back science fiction to current events and world politics.

So, I highly recommend you pick up this lovely book, and read it! Add it on Goodreads or order it from BookDepository or your retailer of choice, and disappear into another universe!

One of the last ARCs from Bookcon that I have left to review! This was my first book by Annalee, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Riot Grrls meet time travel meet feminism had me sold immediately. It addresses incredibly current issues – I’m not actually sure they realized how important these issues were going to be by the time the book would be published, sadly. 

RELEASE DATE: 24/09/2019

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

SYNOPSIS: 1992: After a confrontation at a riot grrl concert, seventeen-year-old Beth finds herself in a car with her friend’s abusive boyfriend dead in the backseat, agreeing to help her friends hide the body. This murder sets Beth and her friends on a path of escalating violence and vengeance as they realize many other young women in the world need protecting too.

2022: Determined to use time travel to create a safer future, Tess has dedicated her life to visiting key moments in history and fighting for change. But rewriting the timeline isn’t as simple as editing one person or event. And just when Tess believes she’s found a way to make an edit that actually sticks, she encounters a group of dangerous travelers bent on stopping her at any cost.

Tess and Beth’s lives intertwine as war breaks out across the timeline–a war that threatens to destroy time travel and leave only a small group of elites with the power to shape the past, present, and future. Against the vast and intricate forces of history and humanity, is it possible for a single person’s actions to echo throughout the timeline?

OPINIONS: First of all, this is not a book for the faint of heart. There is rape and murder, though not in graphic detail, and what tends to hit me much harder, active misogyny. Both Tess and Beth have to fight for their places in society and their basic rights on a very individual scale already, female rights more generally not looking any rosier. This is the fight that is at the heart of this story: the fight for women’s rights, especially abortion rights, and the extents that the characters have to go to in order to achieve them. I’m sad to say that this is something that hits home with my generation. I’m lucky enough to be a white, middle-class, woman in Europe with good access to healthcare and little restriction in terms of career or opportunities, but many are not that lucky, and things tend to get worse rather than worse – take the current anti-abortion developments in the US, or the treatment of our trans sisters, for example.

Just like most people, Annalee’s women are broken and flawed, and have to find ways to put their pieces back together and fight. They are resilient and human and try their best, even if they fail epically at times. However, there was one issue that put me off loving the book fully: at times it read too much like men versus women. I would have loved one or two more complex male characters breaking up this duality, adding a bit more dimension to this dichotomy.

Time travel is their playing board for the story, rather than the story’s main element, and it’s based on ancient rather than futuristic technology, which makes it rather unique. The historical elements are very well researched (and that’s me saying this as a trained historian!) and I learned a lot about periods I knew very little about beforehand, which I enjoyed immensely.

As usual, here’s the Goodreads and Book Depository links! We should take this story as an incentive to do better, to fight, to be vocal, and to never ever take things as they are.

Look at this amazing cover! I love how the picture turned out and fits the dark mood of the book. Sadly, it is the best part about it, I really couldn’t get into the story, and ended up disappointed. I had high hopes as I had really enjoyed Emily Lloyd-Jones’ first book, The Hearts We Sold. So without further ado, here’s my review.

PUBLICATION DATE: 24/09/2019

STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

SUMMARY: Ryn is a grave digger. In her village, that comes with additional responsibilities: The so-called bone houses (aka zombies) rise in the nearby forest and need to be taken apart and burned. But they have begun coming out from between the trees and attacking the village. When Ellis, a mapmaker, arrives, they set out together to try and solve the mystery behind the bone houses.

OPINIONS: I started writing this review ages ago, and I keep pushing it out further and further, and I think it’s because the more I think about this book, the more annoyed I get. I really wanted to love it, as it sounds dark and morbid, and the cover makes it look like it’s right up my alley, but then, the execution is just …your standard YA fairy tale, and nothing about it was surprising. And now it’s the featured book for September in my favourite book crate (where it’s part of an AMAZING theme and what sounds like a great box) and I have to skip it because of this silly book, which doesn’t help my opinion of it any.

I’m not saying it’s bad. Not at all. I’m saying it’s not for me. If you’re me approximately 5 years ago (so, about 1000 fantasy books ago), you’d probably like it. A lot. All the elements for a good read are present, and there’s even comic relief in form of an undead goat. Even present-me loved the undead goat. The undead goat is great. For me, it just ended up being one of those books I had seemingly read a hundred times before. Maybe I was more critical because I read it in the wake of some of the best books I read this year, such as Gideon the Ninth, Magic for Liars or Serpent and Dove, all of whom are proudly unique.

Anyway, lots of others seem to really love it, so go and make up your own mind – here’s the link to Goodreads and BookDepository as usual!

As some of you might know, I was originally trained as a medievalist, and while the Vikings themselves don’t actually classify as medieval, they interfere with the British and Irish medieval societies I worked on, and I’ve always had a soft spot for them. Probably doesn’t hurt either that the modern Viking aesthetic is basically my sexuality in a nutshell. Give me long-haired beardy dudes or badass warrior babes any day.

So of course I jumped at the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Girl the Sea Gave Back for TitanBooks! Many thanks to the publisher, and especially Sarah Mather for sending this my way. I had enjoyed Adrienne’s debut, Sky in the Deep last year, but loved this one on a whole other level!

PUBLICATION DATE: 03/09/2019

STAR RATING: 4.5/5 ✶

SUMMARY: Told from the dual point of view of Tova and Halvard, both at the forefront of conflicting clans, this is a haunting tale about identity, belonging and coming of age in a Viking-inspired setting.

OPINIONS: One of the things I appreciated most about The Girl the Sea Gave Back was that it showcases Adrienne’s development as a writer. In no way am I complaining about Sky in the Deep, but this is just more in every way. It is a wonderful book, with a thrilling story, fascinating characters and a thought-through world. A detail that I don’t think I’ve seen elsewhere before, and which I think is a stroke of genius, is that when the point of view changes within the same location, there is a slight overlap, meaning that the last action described is described again from where the other person sees the action, which really helps with immersion. With rapid PoV changes, readers often get lost, and this prevents that.

Both Tova and Halvard have great character arcs, developing from the teenagers they are at the start of the story into the young adults they need to be by the end of it. They take on responsibility and grow, and it is beautiful to watch them. I’m not going into more detail here, so you will just have to read the book to see what I mean. I also loved Tova’s portrayal as a Truthtongue (which is basically in the blurb, so no spoiler here), and the problematic position this puts her in, as this opens the big can of worms: What happens when the predicted future is not the desired future? How do the powers that be deal with such situations? How does the soothsayer act?

I really enjoyed The Girl the Sea Gave Back, and I hope you will too! This was one of the books I could barely put down and kept thinking about, and will definitely keep recommending to people. While it can get dark at times, the sentiment of hope prevails throughout, which is just what I needed after a difficult couple of months.

As usual, here’s your Goodreads link, and a BookDepository one!

I think this is the first time I’m featuring a sequel on the blog! But then, Natasha Ngan’s Girls series is just too good not to talk about. After really liking Girls of Paper and Fire last year, I was very keen to get my hands on an ARC of Girls of Storm and Shadow – which I finally managed at YALC a few weeks ago. Obviously, I immediately had to start reading it in order to finish it before the signing the next day. I didn’t quite finish and got my copy signed by Natasha while I was still about 30 pages out. And having to stop so shortly before the resolution is commonly known as torture. I survived though, finished it in my next break, and loved the ending.

PUBLICATION DATE: 05/11/2019

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

SUMMARY: After the events of Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and her girlfriend Wren are on the run. Trying to throw over the current government, they and their friends are trying to find allies to help them on their quest. But are things really what they seem? And who can Lei trust?

OPINIONS: As I mentioned above, I devoured Girls of Storm and Shadow! As this is a sequel I’ll be trying extra hard to avoid spoilers for those who might not have come across the series before. There are many aspects that positively surprised me. One of my absolute favourite things about it was that (permanent) consequences arrive from actions and decisions rather than the story working towards a happy resolution. Nothing is fully safe, and Natasha actually dares for the story to come full circle, starting again from square one and ending on an absolute cliffhanger. It is unpredictable and satisfying and darker than expected.

Every single one of the characters acts along their own moral compass, following their own private goals, which in turn leads to morally gray characters and helps with the unpredictability of the story. As the book is written from the point of view of Lei, she is not aware of many of her companions’ true intentions, so we, the readers, are not either. This is the case for one of my favourite additions to the sequel: Leva. She is mysterious, beautiful and interfering, and I cannot wait to find out more about her in the third book.

One caveat, the reason why I decided on four stars, is that emotional issues did not go as deep as I would have liked, both in the relationship between Wren and Lei, and at the death of a beloved character. It felt like much was left unstated, which pulled me out of the story a few times. Nevertheless, I highly recommend you add Girls of Storm and Shadow on Goodreads and/or pre-order it from Book Depository or your retailer of choice!

I’ve always wanted to read some of Adam Silvera’s writing. But his previous books all being contemporary YA, they kept sliding to the back of my TBR. So when Infinity Son was announced as a gay fantasy book, I immediately knew that I had to read it! I was very lucky to get an ARC from Simon & Schuster at YALC so it could slide right on top of my reading list.

PUBLICATION DATE: 14/01/2020

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

SUMMARY: In a world where powers are rare and can be gotten two ways, either by birth or through murder of a magical creature, Emil suddenly develops magical abilities. This throws him and his family in the middle of a war between the two powered factions, all while he and his twin brother, Brighton, try and figure out who and what they are, and what their futures could be.

OPINIONS: I have a feeling that this will turn into the next great thing in YA fantasy. Think the next Folk of the Air or Caraval (two series that are extremely popular in the online YA community). Not only is it a very good book with lots of queer and diverse rep, it will likely also pull over lots of readers from Adam’s previous contemporary novels. That being said, I think I went into reading Infinity Son with expectations that were too high. While I enjoyed my reading experience, it did not blow me away or stick around in my head – though I do think it’s a very ME thing and not a book thing.

The magic system Adam uses in this series (yes, there will be more!) is unique: it features ‘Celestials’ (people who have been born with powers, usually inherited through the family line) and ‘Specters’ (people who have gained magical powers through stealing the blood of magical creatures). I loved the magic and creatures in the book, and my favourite part about reading it was learning about all the different types of phoenixes! While there is obviously a moral component to these powers and the way they were gained, this blurs with the actions and motivations of the individual characters.

The characters were well written and multidimensional; they have clear goals and motivations which they are true to throughout the book. In contrast to many recent YA fantasy books, they truly read like teenagers! They are often clueless and rash, stubborn and independent. The only memorable adult in the story is Emil and Brighton’s mom, who plays a very passive part. It is very much a story for teenagers, for today’s teens obsessed with social media in a way that is almost foreign to my generation of millennials (though perhaps part of that is my European upbringing). There have been many discussions about YA books and their audiences, with teenagers feeling that authors write for younger adults rather than the 13-18 demographic YA is intended for. I don’t want to go into detail about those debates here, but let it be said that this is a book that I feel is very much aimed at ‘actual teens’ rather than the older YA audience. This is likely why Infinity Son didn’t quite hit the sweet spot for me personally, but I see this as a great thing.

As usual, here are your Goodreads and Book Depository links to add Infinity Son to your TBR and/or pre-order it!

I’ve read quite a few fantastic five-star books this year, from The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon in Spring, to Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin (find my review here), or very recently, Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey. But Gideon beats them all. It is weird and confusing, non-sensical and dark, but it is amazing. I’ve been recommending this to my friends non-stop, and I’ve been thinking about it and wanting nothing more than a reread ever since I finished it! If only there were more hours in the day…

PUBLICATION DATE: 10/09/2019

STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶

SUMMARY: Gideon Nav, 18, is so over it. Stuck in the Ninth House, with only the hated Harrow for age-appropriate company, all she wants is to be let go and join the army. But Harrow has different plans for Gideon, and drags her along to a sort of necromantic competition in a mysterious complex on a different planet as her cavalier (better known as an armed sidekick). And then people start to disappear and die, and the two women have to figure out how not to kill each other in the mean time.

OPINIONS: Well, I might be slightly in love with Gideon. She is a take-no-shit sassy badass and might be one of the greatest characters I’ve read. Her deadpan delivery of unexpected comments was one of my favourite parts about this book and a constant source of amusement. Standoffish Harrow and the rest of the Dramatis Personae of Gideon the Ninth did not lag far behind the titular characters. The necromancers and their cavaliers all had their own quirks and motivations, which shone through the story. Their fraught relationships built the heart of this story, if not the brain. In competition with each other, the couples had to navigate their own issues and goals with the events they were all confronted with together, which made for incredibly interesting reading and multi-dimensional characters and relationships. In Gideon and Harrow’s relationship in particular we get quite a bit of introspection on it, confronting Gideon’s thoughts with her actions.

These characters and relationships, together with the nine necromantic houses, set on individual planets, make for a unique concept, which does not lack in execution. I was unable to foresee anything that happened in this novel, which is incredibly rare and made me love it so much more. While the book is very dark, it hit the sweet spot of humour for me, and I found it highly entertaining. In short, Gideon the Ninth is weird and dark and delightful and you should all read it! I know I will be doing a reread as soon as I get my hands on a finished copy.

You can add it on Goodreads here, and pre-order it from your retailer of choice (here’s the link to Book Depository).

However, I do have to add the caveat that Gideon the Ninth is very much not for everyone, as it can also seem rather nonsensical and confusing, and I feel like the humour can be very hit or miss.