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!

And spooky season continues with Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco! After having made a name for herself with the Stalking Jack the Ripper series featuring forensic science enthusiast Audrey Rose, this is the first volume in a new series for Maniscalco. Set in a pre-industrial Sicily, Kingdom of the Wicked is the story of the stregha Emilia, murder, witches, demons and lots of delicious Mediterranean food.

Many thanks to Kate Keehan and Hodder for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 27/10/2020

SUMMARY: Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin… desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost – even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked – princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems… (from Hodder)

OPINIONS: Kingdom of the Wicked has an incredibly compelling opening. It is a story that gets you stuck in from the start, and by the time things slow down you’re so invested that you don’t really want to stop reading. The concept is pretty amazing, combining a murder mystery with witches and demons together with telling the story closely from Emilia’s point of view. I can honestly say that I ended up being pretty surprised by some of the twists! However, the pacing throughout is not always consistent and the story does drag at some points.

There were moments when I felt like I was reading two different books, one that lived up to the concept, and one that fell victim to the clichés of YA, focusing more on the will-they-won’t-they aspect of the relationship between Emilia and Wrath than anything else – which felt more like a trope than something organic. Tension yes, but actually giving in to and making it into something properly romantic it felt like ticking a box required for YA fantasy. Other parts I loved – apart from the world of the streghe I really enjoyed the prevalence of food in the novel. Maniscalco’s descriptions of Emilia’s cooking are mouthwatering and I’m very tempted to try to recreate some of them for myself!

If you’re intrigued by this delicious book, add it on Goodreads here, or pre-order a copy from Waterstones here!

This is the year feminist witches are taking over fantasy! This week alone has seen not only the publication of the excellent The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (see my review here) but also of The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk. Discussing similar questions of women and independence, these books however take an utterly different approach: where The Once and Future Witches is all revolution, The Midnight Bargain is a softer book, focussing more on the individual impact of magic and romance.

I received an eARC of The Midnight Bargain via NetGalley, but all opinions are my own. Many thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books!

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 13/10/2020

SUMMARY: Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an advantageous match before their creditors come calling.

In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first kiss . . . with her adversary’s brother, the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan.

The more Beatrice is entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she marries—even for love—she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever regret the path not taken? (from Erewhon Books)

OPINIONS: So, this took me a little bit to actually get into, but as soon as I did, I could not stop reading. C. L. Polk’s writing is utterly addictive, the world she builds is delicious with detail (although, as a woman who decidedly can not keep quiet and would very likely learn magic, I do not want to visit). If I had to compare it to anything, it reminds me of Mary Robinette Kowal’s early books, though it’s been a few years. As this is the first of Polk’s books that I’ve read, I very much want to go and read the rest now!

The characters are just as well-crafted. With a book such as The Midnight Bargain, it would be easy enough to present Beatrice and her companions as archetypes, falling into tropes of traditional romance. However, Polk manages to craft them into multi-dimensional, flawed, determined characters – well, except maybe for a certain so-called gentleman, where I really can not see any ulterior considerations other than selfishness. They are a joy to read, suffer and worry with, and it is such a relief for the book to come to a satisfying conclusion as is demanded by the genre (despite everything, it is still romantic fantasy).

All in all, I really enjoyed The Midnight Bargain and would highly recommend it. I don’t think it’ll quite make my list of all-time favourites, but I think its likely that I’ll reread it as a comfort read. It is the perfect kind of book to curl up with on a cold autumn night, with a cup of tea… Add it to your Goodreads here, and order a copy from Waterstones here!

This year, I’m truly embracing spooky season. Dracula’s Child by J. S. Barnes is a sort of sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, set a number of years after the original. Being a sucker for a good vampire story, I just could not resist the offer to review this modern take on one of the most classic iterations of the genre.

Many thanks to Sarah Mather and Titan Books for sending me a review copy of Dracula’s Child. As always, any opinions expressed are entirely my own.

STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

RELEASE DATE: 22/09/2020

SUMMARY: It has been some years since Jonathan and Mina Harker survived their ordeal in Transylvania and, vanquishing Count Dracula, returned to England to try and live ordinary lives.

But shadows linger long in this world of blood feud and superstition – and, the older their son Quincey gets, the deeper the shadows that lengthen at the heart of the Harkers’ marriage. Jonathan has turned back to drink; Mina finds herself isolated inside the confines of her own family; Quincey himself struggles to live up to a family of such high renown.

And when a gathering of old friends leads to unexpected tragedy, the very particular wounds in the heart of the Harkers’ marriage are about to be exposed…

There is darkness both within the marriage and without – for new evil is arising on the Continent. A naturalist is bringing a new species of bat back to London; two English gentlemen, on their separate tours of the Continent, find a strange quixotic love for each other, and stumble into a calamity far worse than either has imagined; and the vestiges of something forgotten long ago is finally beginning to stir… (from Titan Books)

OPINIONS: Just like the original Dracula, Dracula’s Child is an epistolary novel in format, which means that its nature is fragmentary. The story is composed of diary entries, letters, newspaper clippings and more coming from a number of different perspectives, rather than being told in a straight-forward manner, while still presenting an edited narrative. I have to say, it is not my favourite manner of story-telling. I prefer a compelling, continuous writing style as I find that much more immersive – it took me almost two-thirds through Dracula’s Child to put the different plot lines together and figure out what was going on, and I think that was partially due to the form of the novel. Now, that is not a bad thing in itself, and I can see that working well for many readers. However, it kept me from fully enjoying myself as every time I felt I was starting to get invested in one of the strands, the book swerved onto one of the unconnected strands for a while and I ended up putting the book aside again.

While we do learn quite a lot about some of the characters due to the nature of their diary entries, for example, I still felt rather disconnected from them. There were a number of them that I thought would make for interesting characters, were they more fleshed out, such as Ruby, or Dr. Seward, or even Caroline, but the way they were presented in the narrative, the reader does not see much in terms of character development or depth from most of the characters. They report rather than analyse, and the editorial selection of the entries is made in a rather clinical way.

All in all, Dracula’s Child is an interesting read, and certainly a worthy sequel to the original Dracula. However, as a novel on its own merit, I think the same story would have profited from a different format allowing for more depth in story-telling and characterisation. It is clearly focused on imitating the original, at times to the detriment of its standing as a modern novel. Nevertheless, if you are intrigued, you can find Dracula’s Child on Goodreads here, and order a signed copy from Forbidden Planet here!