Month: April 2023

Serena’s Review: “Silver in the Bone”

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Book: “Silver in the Bone” by Alexandra Bracken

Publishing Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: Tamsin Lark didn’t ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herself—and her brother, Cabell—alive.

Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsin’s hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they aren’t the only ones who covet the ring.

As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipers’ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother. . . .

Review: Here I am, still getting sucked in by the covers with hands holding up swords. Not to say that I was swindled by this book, just that I’m a sucker for marketing, even when that marketing is starting to reach max capacity, I’d imagine. However, with this books focus on Arthurian legend, which, of course, heavily features a fabled sword, I guess I can give this one a pass on not just cashing in on the trends. But enough about that, let’s get into the review!

While devoid of any magic herself, Tamsin has grown up in the world of Hollowers, those adventurers who seek out and raids the highly warded crypts of ancient sorceresses. But after she and her brother were abandoned by the Hollower who raised them, she’s had to forge a life for herself however she can. And while participating in a dangerous world that she can only halfway understand would be more than most would choose, Tamsin has another goal: saving her brother who is struggling with an ever more debilitating curse. So when gets wind of an incredibly rare relic that could be the answer to her brother’s curse, Tamsin will do anything to claim it for herself, even going so far as teaming up with the boy who has been her rival for as long as she can remember.

First of all, I want to note how surprised I was to find that this was a contemporary YA fantasy story. I mean, I guess there were no clear indications one way or another, but that cover image sure does look “second world” fantasy to me! The average modern teen isn’t walking around with delicate, silver hand bracelets like that, that’s for sure. So I was fairly taken aback to start this novel and be immediately confronted with cell phones, cars, and the like. I do wish the marketing (either the cover or the book description) had made this more clear, as I had to work hard at the beginning of this read to recalibrate my expectations. It wasn’t an obvious attempt at misrepresenting a book, but I do think the overall affect obfuscates the kind of story readers are actually getting.

Preferences, of course, always lead my to picking up the “second world” fantasy over a contemporary story, so on one hand, I was glad that this book essentially forced my hand into something I wouldn’t typically read. And, overall, I do think it was a fun read. The book is absolutely brimming with new ideas and magical concepts, many of which I thought were very original and intriguing. However, the sheer number of fantastical elements also began to overlap one another in ways that I think began to confuse the issue. I was never quite clear on the history of the sorceresses, or some of the basic details about how their crypts were set up. I think it was meant to read as a combination of something like the tomb raiders of Egyptian burial sites and Arthurian legends. But as I read, I became more and more distracted by some of the details. Just how many of these sorceresses were there? How did they all manage to create these elaborate, curse-riddled hiding places before their deaths? How is there still such a thriving “business” in the raiding of these places? And on top of these questions, there were the curses themselves, the magical items, the potions, the portals. It was just a lot. So, while there was never a lack of ideas, I do think that the story could have used a good polish. A few fewer ideas that were more developed and fleshed out would have been preferred to the overwhelming number of ideas, all of which were very loosely explained.

I did like Tamsin as a character, especially in the first part of the book. I thought her history, her relationship with her brother, and the cobbled together life that she had built for them was interesting and full of nuance. She’s clearly not a perfect character, trying to hold together her small family through sheer force of will, sometimes to the extent that it’s clear she doesn’t fully understand those she loves most. I also really liked the idea that she operated in a magical world that she, being nonmagical herself, couldn’t fully see or experience. Unfortunately, the book chooses to “solve” this problem for her fairly early on, and I thought this was a big turning point to the negative for me. I would have vastly preferred to read a book that held true to that original premise rather than setting up this entire concept only to “magic potion” (quite literally) the entire problem away.

However, I did enjoy the reading experience itself. While I had questions about some of the fantasy elements and was disappointed by the character turn for Tamsin, I thought the pacing and plotting was very solid. It was a fun, fast read, and I think it will appeal to a lot of YA fantasy fans, especially those who like contemporary fantasy. I liked the way the Arthurian elements were woven throughout the book, and I thought for a topic that is very, veeeery well-covered, this book did a good job of standing out from a very crowded room.

Rating 7: Perhaps suffering from a case of a few too many ideas, this book still stands out as a fun, unique contemporary fantasy story that tackles the Arthurian legend in an interesting way.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Silver in the Bone” is on this (and others like it) Goodreads list: YA Releases April 2023.

Kate’s Review (and Giveaway!): “The Twisted Dead”

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Book: “The Twisted Dead (Gravekeeper #3)” by Darcy Coates

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, February 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received a paperback copy from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Keira is ready for her life to return to normal. Though, to be fair, normal is a tall ask when your ability to see ghosts has landed you the job of groundskeeper in a small town’s cemetery.

When Keira receives an invitation to dinner at Dane Crispin’s crumbling ancestral estate, she knows she can’t refuse. The last living descendant of the Crispin family is reclusive. Keira only met him once…on the night he tried to kill her.

The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody. Keira senses the presence of restless spirits the moment she steps through its door. And Dane, waiting for her inside, wants to ask for her help.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me a copy of this novel!

We have come to the final entry in my reviews of Darcy Coates’s “Gravekeeper” Series! The most recent book, “The Twisted Dead”, is the third in what I hope is a long running series, and I was very eager to see where Coates was going to take ghost whisperer Keira and her sidekicks Mason, Zoe, and cat Daisy next. I feel like horror is a genre that doesn’t tend to have long running series as much as say romances or mysteries, so I’m quite pleased that we get to spend more time with this merry band of misfits. And “The Twisted Dead” is my favorite adventure yet!

Coates really knows how to balance out the more jovial and lighthearted tone of this series with genuinely creepy supernatural and ghostly moments and mythologies. We have picked up very close to where we left off with “The Ravenous Dead”, Keira having recently freed a shade (or malevolent and rage filled spirit) that had been tormenting the other ghosts in the cemetery, and now she has been invited to the home of Dane Crispin, local wealthy hermit who may or may not have tried to kill Keira, Mason, and Zoe. But instead of revenge or vendettas, Dane is instead needing her help, as he is being tormented by his own ghostly problem. And that is where we get into a new kind of spectral foe: parasitic ghosts that haunt people, not places. I love that Keira is finding new kinds of ghosts and the challenges that their differences present, and there are definitely descriptions and beats here that show how Coates, while doing a bit of a horror lite cozy ghost story with this series, knows how to conjure up some straight up nightmare fuel. And along with the not so friendly spirits, we still get to see the kinder and gentler spirits that Keira sees while in the cemetery, a few of them giving me moments of pure joy as I was reading (and also a moment or two of tears).

And the characters are still very engaging and interesting, and have really grown into their own and beyond their baseline impressions. I still really like Keira and her drive to help ghosts and those that are affected by them, and I like that we are starting to see more insight into the life that she cannot remember. Coates has introduced the mysterious corporation Artec, the group that Keira has been hiding from though she has no memories as to why, and I love that we get a little bit of corporate conspiracy and corruption on top of the supernatural themes. We still don’t REALLY know what the full endgame is for Artec and Keira’s full connection, but Coates has drawn out the suspense without falling into any frustrating traps of milking it too much. We also get to learn more about Mason’s past, and get to go a bit more into his secretive reasons for leaving medical school and coming back to Blighty. And then there’s Zoe, who has gone from making me a little nervous with her conspiracy peddling to being pretty darn endearing and fun without getting into ludicrous ‘quirky girl’ territory. Coates knows how to keep these characters fresh and keeps exploring their potential, and I really like their dynamic.

“The Twisted Dead” is the strongest entry in the “Gravekeeper” Series thus far. And now I am at the point where I have to wait to see what happens next. I can hardly wait.

And now the most exciting part! I’m giving away all three of the “Gravekeeper” Series books I’ve read and reviewed! So you can win not only “The Twisted Dead”, but also “The Whispering Dead” and “The Ravenous Dead”! The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, and runs through April 19th, 2023

Enter Here To Win!

Rating 8: With lots of things coming to light and a group of characters who are fully realized and comfortable in their characterizations, “The Twisted Dead” is the strongest “Gravekeeper” book yet!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Twisted Dead” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2023”.

Previously Reviewed:

Serena’s Review: “He Who Breaks the Earth”

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Book: “He Who Breaks the Earth” by Caitlin Sangster

Publishing Info: Margaret K. McElderry Books, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: Mateo spent years believing he suffered from a strange wasting sickness, but he’s finally learned the much darker truth. Now he will do whatever it takes to save himself, even if it means betraying Lia, the one girl who’s ever made him care about something more than his research.

It doesn’t help that his father kidnapped the last living member of Lia’s family, and though it means Mateo will get to see her again, it’s only because Lia is already hunting them.

Anwei’s rage can’t be contained after the disaster at the tomb that ended with Knox almost dying. Worse, she learned that the brother she’d been desperate to avenge has been living a life of luxury, raised by the monster of her nightmares. With the power of an ancient, nameless god running in her veins, Anwei vows to end the shapeshifter once and for all.

But the members of her crew each have their own motivations—and their own gods whispering in their ears. Anwei has never put much stock in the divine, but as she gets closer to the shapeshifter she’s chased for so long, she realizes that the gods’ plan and her own might diverge. But Anwei has only one goal: revenge, and she’ll destroy anyone standing in her way.

Previously Reviewed: “She Who Rides the Storm”

Review: I always love being able to read books in a series back-to-back. I suspect this inclination is the same as the one that has lead to the preference for binge watching shows for many viewers. I just want to sink into a world and stay there as along as I can. Also, as a SFF reader, many of the stories I consume require a decent amount of brain power and memory to fully understand the world and culture of the story. So there’s a premium to be found in not having to re-learn all of that from book to book when there’s a year plus waiting between stories. All of that to say, I was excited to jump right on to the second and final book in this duology after finishing up the first one.

After the explosive events at the end of the previous book, nothing is as it seemed. Anwei’s entire world has been shaken. Her brother, a beloved sibling whose “death” she has been trying to avenge for much of her life, has instead been alive and well living with her worst enemies. What’s worse, she almost lost Knox in the pursuit of this vengeance. But now her fury cannot be contained, and she vows to hunt down the shapeshifters who have so destroyed her life. For his part, her brother Mateo has had to face some harsh truths about his own existence. Now, both siblings will have to confront just how far they will go in the pursuit of their goals. And who they are willing to sacrifice along the way.

I was in a pretty good place to start this book coming off the last one. While the first book was quite a commitment, page-length-wise, this definitely felt like one of those reads that would benefit from a back-to-back read. For one thing, the pacing and reveals came hot and heavy towards the end of the first book, leaving most of character reeling from one discovery or near miss or another. There was a lot revealed, and I was excited to see how it would all be resolved here in the second book.

One of the things that has stood out from the very beginning of this read was the quality of the writing itself. It is clear that the author has a very clear vision for her characters, both their strengths and flaws. This last part, in particular, is difficult to pull off. How do you write characters who behave badly, who make selfish choices, who risk others in the pursuit of their own goals without alienating readers from those same characters who, ostensibly, are still the “heroes” of the story? But I think Sangster really has a handle on how to do this. As alluded to in the book description, both Anwei and Mateo face choices that will seem them prioritizing themselves and their goals over the ones they care about. However, the characterization is so solid that their decisions, even while questionable and, at times, incredibly poor, make sense within the realm of them both being flawed individuals.

I also still very much like the overall world-building and the use of shape-shifters. Shape shifters are the sorts of paranormal creatures that you rarely see, often falling to the side in favor of the ever popular vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. There were some interesting twists and turns to be found in this aspect of the story, as well. I also really liked the way the gods and their powers/connections with each character were used.

I will say that I some of my positive reception of this book could come down to the fact that I was able to read it immediately after the first one. For readers who have had to wait the full year, there is a lot of wading in that will likely need to be done to refamiliarize yourself with this world and the characters. As such, the pacing can also feel a bit slow and tedious at times. I do wonder, overall, whether this series and Sangster’s writing in general might have better translated to adult fantasy. I think some of the pacing and expansive world-building might have worked better with that audience than with younger readers who like faster moving stories.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first book, I think this is a good conclusion to the duology and will appeal to those fans. In general, readers who are looking for a more “meaty” YA fantasy, this might be a good read for you!

Rating 8: A solid conclusion to a unique YA fantasy duology, though the overall pacing might be slower than younger audiences may appreciate.

Reader’s Advisory:

“He Who Breaks the Earth” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2023.

Kate’s Review: “American Vampire: Vol. 7”

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Book: “American Vampire: Vol. 7” by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque (Ill.), & Matías Bergara (Ill.)

Publishing Info: Vertigo, January 2015

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Writer Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing) and artist Rafael Albuquerque bring together even more threads to the complex tapestry that is the world of American Vampire.

When we meet Pearl again, it is in 1960’s Kansas, an era fraught with fear of nuclear war, angry demonstrations and vast social change. But what has changed in the years since the V.M.S. attack? And where is Skinner Sweet?

Review: So we are now at the last volume of “American Vampire” that I read until I just kind of let it fall by the wayside. And as I was reading through it, I think I realized that I may not have actually finished “American Vampire: Volume 7” on my first read through, as I did not remember a lot of what I was reading beyond the first section. And I don’t really know why I didn’t keep going with it, because as I was reading this, I found myself really, really enjoying where the story was going. The new beginning was engaging, the stakes were raised, and what I thought was impossible actually came to pass: I. Actually. Liked. Skinner. Sweet.

I, too, was shocked. (source)

We have shifted into a new phase of “American Vampire”, and have entered the ending arc as well, and we start out very strong. It’s now the 1960s in America, about tenish-years after the Vassals of the Morning Star was dealt a big blow by Carpathians, after Pearl’s husband Henry’s death, and after Skinner disappeared after his betrayal. Pearl has returned to her family home in Kansas, and has started taking in runaway vampire children who are hiding from Carpathian vampires, and finds new, hidden homes for them with other vampires in hiding. She’s still connected with Cal, who is still working with VMS, and after getting hints of a man called The Gray Trader, they decide to look into what he is, and how it connects to the vampires. Meanwhile, Skinner has been making moves on the Mexican Border, but he, too, runs afoul something disturbing, so much so that he seeks out Pearl. So we have a new mystery, we have new trajectories for our favorite characters, and we have a new backdrop of the 1960s that was an incredibly restless and fraught era of change, violence, and social upheaval. Once again Snyder has managed to meld themes of America with his vampire mythology, and I was so here for it.

Pearl is still such a wonderful main character. Her grief for Henry still lingers, but she has persevered and has become a beacon of hope for vampire children, fighting off hostile neighbors and making a network of safety, and her reluctance to go back to the VMS is completely understandable. I like that she’s still close with Cal, and I love how she has been able to bring her warmth to the vampire children whilst also being VERY badass when the moment calls for it. And I think that it’s ultimately Pearl that makes Skinner Sweet work for me. It’s undeniable that they have some pretty heady chemistry, which I am always going to enjoy, but what’s interesting about Skinner is that he really does have an affection for Pearl that does seem to go beyond her resemblance to his old ladyfriend. It’s a bit cliché for the bad boy to be tamed by the love of a good woman, and by no means is Skinner redeemed in any way shape or form, but I do like seeing him recognize the help that Pearl can provide, and that he is actually being VULNERABLE and FALLIBLE and not just falling into old bullshit backstabbing that he has ALWAYS done up until now. We also leave him in an interesting state at the end here which raises a lot of questions about where his story is going to end.

And the new vampire lore is pretty interesting. We get some good body horror bits in this volume, some of which was pretty freaking squirm inducing for me and my various phobias/content I can’t handle too well hang ups. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but it’s an even bigger threat than the characters have dealt with, and it’s very imposing and, while a little ridiculous in some ways, is a fresh new villain for the final arc of this series that has gone to so many crazy places. There is a fair amount of set up to be done here, but it’s done quickly and by the end of the volume there’s a solid jumping off point to go forward from. I am a little nervous about the fact we only have two volumes left after this to wrap it all up. Where are Felicia and Gus? What about the reveal of James Book being a vampire hidden away from the world? Will all of this be wrapped up well on top of the new Gray Trader storyline? I guess we’ll have to see. I’m optimistic as of now.

“American Vampire: Vol. 7” is a good start to the end of a sometimes messy but always entertaining series. I regret not finishing it up on the initial run, but now I just have something to look forward to, I guess! Let’s see where Pearl and Skinner go next.

Rating 8: An enjoyable start to a new and final cycle of vampire lore in the heart of American history, “American Vampire: Vol. 7” jumps into the fraught times of the 1960s and shows how fraught its protagonists are.

Reader’s Advisory:

“American Vampire: Vol. 7” is included on the Goodreads list “Vertigo Titles” Must Read Comics A-E”.

Previously Reviewed:

Book Club Review: “Great or Nothing”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Our current theme is retellings and re-imaginings.  For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Great or Nothing” by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, & Jessica Spotswood

Publishing Info: Delacorte, March 2022

Where Did We Get This Book: The library!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Retelling/Re-imagining: “Little Women”

Book Description: A reimagining of Little Women set in the spring of 1942, when the United States is suddenly embroiled in the second World War, this story, told from each March sister’s point of view, is one of grief, love, and self-discovery.

In the spring of 1942, the United States is reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the US starts sending troops to the front, the March family of Concord, Massachusetts grieves their own enormous loss: the death of their daughter, Beth.

Under the strain of their grief, Beth’s remaining sisters fracture, each going their own way with Jo nursing her wounds and building planes in Boston, Meg holding down the home front with Marmee, and Amy living a secret life as a Red Cross volunteer in London–the same city where one Mr. Theodore Laurence is stationed as an army pilot.

Each March sister’s point of view is written by a separate author, three in prose and Beth’s in verse, still holding the family together from beyond the grave. Woven together, these threads tell a story of finding one’s way in a world undergoing catastrophic change.

Kate’s Thoughts

I’m someone who has what is probably an average relationship with the book “Little Women”. I read it once a long time ago, I really like the 1994 film with Winona Ryder, and when I was working at a historic Victorian house I was one of the people who would lead a “Little Women” themed Christmas tour. I’m not super wedded to the book like I am “Anne of Green Gables”, but I like it enough. When I saw that Book Club was going to take on a “Little Women” re-imagining that takes place during World War II, it struck me as a perfect time period to revisit this story of sisters growing up during war time and learning hard life lessons while also finding their places in the world. And I was happy to see that I was right.

“Great or Nothing” is written in four different perspectives from four different authors, one for each March sister. The story plunks us midway through the original tale, with Beth already dead and Jo, Meg, and Amy separated and feeling the distance (especially since they all left on a sour note between the three of them). The surviving sisters take on roles that women could have during WWII that perfectly fit each of them. We have Meg at the home front doing fundraising, planting victory gardens, and teaching children. We have Jo working in a plane factory, doing a whole Rosie the Riveter thing. And we have Amy in London volunteering for the Red Cross, and meeting up with Laurie who is fighting in Europe. Beth also has a perspective, with poetry being used because she’s dead, I guess? Regardless, I really felt like all of these settings were perfect for the various sisters, and I mostly liked how all of the sisters felt like their core characters set in a new time. I think that my favorite was Meg’s, as the home front has always fascinated me with war bonds, fund raising, and advocacy, but I did like Jo’s story of working in a factory and finding romance with a lady war reporter named Charlie (as a true Professor Bhaer fan, I loved how they brought this relationship into this story with a queer twist). That said, I did find it a little bit of a bummer that we were at a point in the story where Meg, Jo, and Amy weren’t really interacting with each other, as that is part of the charm of the original story for me. It seemed like an odd choice, but at the same time since it was four different authors writing each sister, I suppose that makes some sense so as not to step on each other’s toes.

“Great or Nothing” is a really well thought out re-imagining of a classic tale, with a nice blending of voices from different authors to give Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March interesting stories in the 20th century.

Serena’s Thoughts

I’m probably similar to Kate in my devotion levels to the original “Little Women.” Enjoyed the book, liked the 90s version of the movie well enough, really liked the recent one that was released a few years ago. But, like Kate, I don’t have any strong emotions attached to it, which in many ways makes it the perfect book for a retelling! If you’re not a devoted fan, you won’t get as mad at changes!

Anyways, the first thing that stood out to me was how much I liked the change in time period. There are a million and one WWII books out there, but this story really took a unique angle at exploring all of the very different ways that women contributed to the war front, both at home and abroad. Not only did this give the reader a wide range of angles on this particular time of history, but all of these choices also worked perfectly with the characters themselves. I was also very impressed with how well the different writing styles of all of the authors worked together. Perhaps….too impressed? If I hadn’t know that this was authored by four different people, I’m not sure I would have guessed, and I’m not sure that’s really for the best. Obviously, cohesion on this sort of project is key, but I also think you lose something from the original goal if every author’s voice is paired down to the point that they’re indistinguishable from each other.

As for the story, I thought it did a good job of hitting the major plot points that fans will look for. That said, I didn’t necessarily enjoy many of these chapters. While I liked the look at the types of work that Meg and Jo were doing, their personal arcs I found more frustrating. Honestly, if I had to hear one more time about the big fight they all got into, I think I would have screamed. In this way, I felt like this book really missed the mark on the overall theme of “Little Women.” Yes, the sisters have their quarrels, but the primary heart of the story is built around the deep bonds they all share. So for this book to spend the vast majority of its time with each sister endlessly reflecting on their broken ties…it just felt like a bummer and a let down of the original premise. This being the case, Amy’s story rose to the top for me as the only one that felt as it had any real action or stakes involved. I enjoyed getting to see her and Teddy’s romance play out more in real-time as well, rather than the off-page romance we get in the original.

Overall, I felt like this book was ok. I didn’t love anything it was doing, but I also didn’t hate any of it. I think Meg and Jo both could have been done better by, but I really enjoyed Beth’s poetry sections and Amy’s plot line. Fans of the original looking for a unique take will likely enjoy this, however.

Kate’s Rating 8: A great new setting for a classic tale of sisters growing up and finding themselves, “Great or Nothing” is a successful “Little Women” retelling.

Serena’s Rating 7: An interesting reimaging with an excellent use of shifting the historical setting, but it still somehow feels as if it misses the mark on the heart of the original story.

Book Club Questions

  1. What did you think of the time period in this retelling? Do you think that World War II fit in with the “Little Women” story?
  2. Each of the March sisters was written by a different author. Did you like any sister more than the others?
  3. Did the Beth sections with the poetry work for you as you were reading? Would you have preferred to see another character’s perspective over Beth’s, like Laurie, or Marmee?
  4. Which of the sister’s plots would you like to be in? The homefront? A factory? Acting as a Red Cross volunteer overseas? Something else?
  5. What is your experience with the original “Little Women” story?

Reader’s Advisory

“Great or Nothing” is included on the Goodreads lists “Book Riot 2022 #21: Read a Queer Retelling of a Classic of the Canon, Fairytale, Folklore, or Myth”, and “YA & Middle Grade Retellings of “Little Women””.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Raven and the Reindeer” by T. Kingfisher

Serena’s Review: “Untethered Sky”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Untethered Sky” by Fonda Lee

Publishing Info: Tor, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: Ester’s family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father’s painful silence and a single, overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family.

Ester’s path leads her to the King’s Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated ruhkers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never return her love. The terrifying partnership between woman and roc leads Ester not only on the empire’s most dangerous manticore hunt, but on a journey of perseverance and acceptance.

Review: I really enjoyed Fonda Lee’s “Jade City” trilogy. It was a sprawling, complex, urban fantasy story with an entire host of complicated, troubled characters at its heart. It was truly impressive and left me in no doubt of Lee’s fantasy chops. That said, I was pleased to see that her next book was a stand-alone novella. As much as I’m an epic SFF fan, it’s lovely to be able to break up my reading experience with these shorter, bite-sized looks into new worlds and stories. It also is a unique writing skill, to pare down a story into a compressed number of pages without losing key aspects of the world/characters/etc. I wasn’t concerned that Lee wouldn’t be able to manage; no, I was just excited to see what she had to offer!

Ever since she lost her family to an attack by a manticore, a viscous, cat-like monster that prefers human prey above all else, Ester has pursued one goal: to become one of the rare handlers who work with the giant Rocs that are the only animals capable of hunting and killing manticores. Now, as a young woman, Ester earned her place after successfully training one of these gigantic birds to fly for her. But when a prince of the realm decides that now is the time for the empire to rid itself of the threat of manticores once and for all, Ester and her Roc, Zahra, find themselves on an adventure that may prove perilous to both woman and bird.

I really enjoyed this book! For such a short novel, it really did pack quite a punch, especially on the adventure front. First of all, I really liked the primary concept at the heart of the story: that of a young woman and her journey to train a dangerous, huge bird of prey. For one thing, I was under the misimpression that this was one of those stories where the huge birds are ridden by their handlers. But instead the relationship between rukher and Roc is essentially that of a falconer. Of course, in this situation the “falcon” is the size of an elephant and could kill the handler with one buffet of its wings. But I was incredibly pleased when I discovered this since there have been numerous books released recently about dragon riders or phoenix riders or what have you. So this take felt fresh and new.

I’m not overly familiar with traditional falcon training, so I was also really intrigued by a lot of the details about how Ester forms the relationship with her Roc. Not only is this a bird that could easily kill her, but by the very nature of the relationship, Ester must train a wild bird to willing return to her after each hunt. Unlike riders who maintain direct contact with their mounts at all time, the Roc could essentially choose to fly away at any moment. It made the entire relationship much more complex and interesting.

I also really liked the world-building, as the author had to create some reason to motivate humans to take on the perilous task of training these birds (its established early on that there is a high mortality rate in the effort to train even a single Roc). The manticores are not only terrifying in and of themselves, but it’s a clever conceit to create a threat to human life that can only be managed by domesticating its only natural predator, giant birds.

The human relationships definitely fall to the backburner in a story that is primarily focused on the relationship between Ester and Zhara. But I really liked what we saw with the other rukhers and the ways these relationships wove in and out of Ester and Zhara’s lives. The final third of the book builds to a climatic action scene that pulled in aspects of these human relationships in interesting ways while also highlighting how delicate the balance is between rukher and their Roc.

I will say that while I really enjoyed this read, I did finish it feeling as if the story ended rather suddenly. It took a few surprising turns towards the end, and then finished in a way that left me feeling a bit bereft. I think, on one hand, that was probably the point for a conclusion that was meant to be bittersweet. But I also then looked back on my read and didn’t necessarily feel as if I can away from the book with any real conclusions. Of course, it’s not necessary that every book has some great thesis or “point,” but I think there was just something a bit rushed in the pacing towards the end that left me floundering.

Overall, though, this was still an incredibly fun read for me and I highly recommend this book to all fans of Lee’s work and to fantasy fans in general. There is a lot of great stuff to be found here, and I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for us next!

Rating 8: Fonda Lee strikes again, this time with a poignant novella that captures the wild, bittersweet joy of working alongside powerful creatures and the important relationships that can form between humans and animals.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Untethered Sky” can be found on this Goodreads lists: Upcoming 2023 SFF Books With Female Leads or Co-Leads

Kate’s Review: “The Ravenous Dead”

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Book: “The Ravenous Dead (Gravekeeper #2)” by Darcy Coates

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, March 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I received a print copy of this book from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: He’ll never let go…

Keira, hired as Blighty Graveyard’s new groundskeeper, lives surrounded by the dead. They watch her through the fog. They wordlessly cry out. They’ve been desperately waiting for help moving on—and only Keira can hear them. But not every restless spirit wants to be saved.

Sometimes the dead hate the living too much to find peace.

As Keira struggles to uncover the tangled histories of some of the graveyard’s oldest denizens, danger seeps from the darkest edges of the forest. A vicious serial killer was interred among the trees decades before, his spirit twisted by his violent nature. He’s furious. Ravenous. And when Keira unwittingly answers his call, she may just seal her fate as his final intended victim.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me a print copy of this book!

Another week, another “Gravekeeper” book! While I do love the really scary stuff that Darcy Coates has concocted in the past, it’s also kind of nice to have a comparatively lighter horror story to tackle. The second book in the series, “The Ravenous Dead”, ended up being a pretty fun beach read for me on my vacation at the beginning of March, as while it’s eerie and admittedly scarier than “The Whispering Dead”, it’s also light hearted enough that it just fit in with the relaxation I was going for.

“The Ravenous Dead” is the second book into the “Gravekeeper” series, and we pretty much jump right back in where we left off. Keira is still living in the groundskeeper cottage at the Blighty cemetery, still able to see the lingering ghosts in the graveyard that she can potentially help cross over, and still doesn’t remember much of her past before waking up here. She’s still chummy with Zoe and Mason, and is trying to help ghosts, maintain friendships, and stay under the radar lest the mysterious group chasing her previously pops back up. I find it awesome that Coates can write some pretty zippy and humorous dark fantasy as well as the horror that she is so good at, and “The Ravenous Dead”, while having darker horror bits, is still very accessible and, dare I say, cozy. I love that Coates does this as easily as she does her very scary stuff.

But, cozy or not, I also liked that this one was a bit darker than “The Whispering Dead”. I totally get that the first book in a series has a lot of groundwork to lay, and I also understand that the Gravekeeper books are a bit more on the dark fantasy and light hearted side. And that works just fine overall. But I was pretty pumped when Keira first encountered the ‘shade’, aka the spirit of the potential serial killer that is not only still fully invested in causing death and destruction, it can also attack and ‘kill’ ghosts that are in the cemetery. It reminded me a bit of the Peter Jackson horror film “The Frighteners”, and it upped the ante for stakes in this book as Keira not only has to worry about a mysterious group coming after her, she now has to worry about being hurt or killed by one of the things that she is sticking around Blighty to help. It also made her inner conflicts about confiding in Mason and Zoe about her ghostly abilities all the more pressing, as she doesn’t want to put them in danger, but could really use their support. It just made the horror elements all the darker, and given that when Coates REALLY goes to town on the horror like in some of her other books, it’s VERY satisfying for the reader. So it was nice seeing shades of that in this one.

And the cast of characters and overall setting is still pretty fun. I’m warming up to conspiracy theorist Zoe, I still like Mason’s earnest personality (and I like that while there is kind of something going on between him and Keira, it isn’t obsessed over), and I still like Keira’s spunky and sometimes exasperated attitude. And there are also more fun interactions with the townsfolk of Blighty, like perky florist Polly and her morose goth son, or kindly pastor Adage who is still letting Keira stay in the groundskeeper cottage. Coates just knows how to make Blighty seem like a quirky little community that has a lot of charm to go around.

“The Ravenous Dead” was a fun follow up to the first book in the series, and next week I am moving onto the most recent “Gravekeeper” book “The Twisted Dead”. And on top of that, I’m going to run a giveaway of all three “Gravekeeper” books, so definitely check back in soon! Darcy Coates is still keeping me entertained and intrigued, and I can’t wait to see where Keira goes next!

Rating 8: A well done and darker sequel that explores more of the downsides of being able to see ghosts, “The Ravenous Dead” keeps with the quippy atmosphere while still finding grim scares.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Ravenous Dead” is included on the Goodreads lists “Psychic/Paranormal”, and “2022 Horror Novels Written by Women and Non-Binary Femmes”.

Previously Reviewed:

Serena’s Review: “One for My Enemy”

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Book: “One for My Enemy” by Olivie Blake

Publishing Info: Tor, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ebook from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: In New York City where we lay our scene, two rival witch families fight to maintain control of their respective criminal ventures. On one side of the conflict are the Antonova sisters, each one beautiful, cunning, and ruthless, and their mother, the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants known only as Baba Yaga. On the other side, the influential Fedorov brothers serve their father, the crime boss known as Koschei the Deathless, whose community extortion ventures dominate the shadows of magical Manhattan.

After twelve years of tenuous coexistence, a change in one family’s interests causes a rift in the existing stalemate. When bad blood brings both families to the precipice of disaster, fate intervenes with a chance encounter, and in the aftershocks of a resurrected conflict, everyone must choose a side. As each of the siblings struggles to stake their claim, fraying loyalties threaten to rot each side from the inside out.

If, that is, the enmity between empires doesn’t destroy them first.

Review : Do you want to hear a first world reader problem with today’s booming SFF publishing industry? Way too often I find myself late to pick up a book by an author who is clearly widely popular and has been for a few years. Such is the case with Olivie Blake. Have I heard of “The Atlas Six” series? Yes. Do I even have a few eARCs of the books in that series on my Kindle now? Also, yes. Have I yet read and reviewed any of those books on the blog? Nope! Alas, there are just too many great books and great authors out there to stay on top of it all! So, instead of committing myself to a series, I thought I’d dip my toes into this author’s work by jumping on the re-release of one of her previously published books, “One for My Enemy,” a Romeo and Juliet retelling.

In the borroughs of New York City, witches and magic are closely monitored by the Council. That is, all except two shadowy and powerful witches: Baba Yaga, who creates powerful, hallucinogenic drugs, and Koschei the Deathless, who operates a shadow organization of favor-doing and debt-calling. Years ago, these two families fell into a dispute, and years later, it continues to play out on the street between the dueling families, each vying for power and control over the underground magical industry. Caught in these ebbs and flows of vengeance and retribution, the children of Baba Yaga and Koschei must decide where their loyalties truly lie and just how much they are willing to sacrifice to this ongoing war.

So, I’ll admit, I was a bit wary when I went into this book purely based on the “Romeo and Juliet” re-telling part. For one thing, I’ve read Chloe Gong’s “Romeo and Juliet”/modern gangster family duology and didn’t really love it. I’m not a “everything has to be rainbows and flowers” reader, but I also struggle to read a story where I’m being asked to become invested in two characters and their love story when I know it’s going to end in tragedy. There has to be more going on to make that feel worth my time, and in Gong’s case, there wasn’t. BUT! I’m happy to say that Blake has somehow caught magic in a bottle here and written a “Romeo and Juliet” story that both feels in-line with the original, but is also totally unique and not a total bummer of a read.

For one thing, there are no exact equivalents to Romeo and Juliet themselves. Indeed, there are two main couples in this book, and at various points throughout the story (some of it even taking place in references to past events), they all swap in and out of the roles of these two characters. There would be scenes and even lines that would directly reference the original play, but then a few pages later, a different character/couple would take on these roles. It was an interesting method that not only felt like a breath of fresh air to a classic story that has been retold countless times, but it also left me guessing as to what was going to come next. Very quickly, I came to understand that my knowledge of how “Romeo and Juliet” plays out in the actual play would give me next to zero hints as to how this story was going to go.

I also really liked the romance itself in this book. All told, there was actually a lot more romance than I has been expecting. It’s clearly an urban fantasy novel, but there were bits of it that read in a very similar manner to a romance novel. Nothing is overly explicit, but the author devotes a decent amount of page time and dialogue to the romantic dynamics and emotional aspects. This is in no way a dig, but it definitely had the rather flowery, dramatic proclamations and inner monologues that one comes to expect from romance novels. I also have to admit that one of the romances was a bit insta-lovey, but honestly, it didn’t bother me here. I think that’s because while the romance plays a big role, the story is equally (if not more!) concerned with the relationships between siblings, and most importantly, between parents and their children. Who would have expected any of that from “Romeo and Juliet??” Definitely not me!

Furthermore, I really liked the way Russian mythology and New York ganger fiction played into this. I’m honestly a bit bewildered by how Blake managed to juggle three very different types of books/genres and still come out with something that feels polished and organic. Baba Yaga and Koschei are both huge characters in Russian folklore with tons of background and fables existing to support them. Beyond that, we also had references to Ivan and other Russian fairytale characters. There were a lot of sly little Easter Eggs dropped here and there for readers who are familiar with those stories.

Overall, “One for My Enemy” was nothing like what I was expecting, and I loved it all the more for that fact. The writing could be a bit flowery and overwrought at times, but other than that quibble, I think this is a superb urban fantasy, especially those looking for a healthy dose of romance and family drama.

Rating 9: Heart-wrenching and sly, this “Romeo and Juliet” re-telling takes the original story and turns it on its head, adding in a healthy dose of Russian folklore and New York gangster fiction. A supreme work of modern fantasy fiction!

Reader’s Advisory:

“One for My Enemy” somehow seems to be on no Goodreads lists currently (how?!) but it should be on Romeo and Juliet Re-Tellings.

Kate’s Review: “Linghun”

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Book: “Linghun” by Ai Jiang

Publishing Info: Dark Matter INK, April 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from the author.

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Dark Matter INK

Book Description: WELCOME HOME.

Follow Wenqi, Liam, and Mrs. in this modern gothic ghost story by Chinese-Canadian writer and immigrant, Ai Jiang. LINGHUN is set in the mysterious town of HOME, a place where the dead live again as spirits, conjured by the grief-sick population that refuses to let go.

Review: Thank you to Ai Jiang for sending me an eARC of this novella!

I had been seeing “Linghun” on my social media feeds on and off before it ended up in my inbox, and there was a lot about it that caught my eye. The cover design was one aspect, as was the promise of a Gothic horror story. But it wasn’t until I really dug into the first few pages that I realized that “Linghun” was not only going to be a creepy Gothic horror story, but also a very emotional exploration of grief. I love a story like that, but I also have to steel myself for a story like that. And boy oh boy was it not pulling any punches. I love a ghost story that can take on deeper layers, and this one is less about the ghosts and more about the people who are aching to see those ghosts again.

Man did this one really get to me. It’s not a particularly long book, definitely novella status not even clocking it at one hundred pages, but in those pages Jiang has crafted such a bleak, disturbing, and haunting tale about how grief can drive people to completely upend their lives if there is just ONE chance of getting to reconnect with a dead loved one. This is mostly through the eyes of Wenqi, a Chinese Canadian teenage girl whose family left China after the death of her older brother when he was six and she was three. Her mother, so consumed by her grief, convinces her family to move to HOME, a weird small town where people’s dead loved ones can manifest in one of the much sought out houses (so sought out that other people, called lingerers, camp out in hopes of securing an open home). Wenqi never knew her brother, but at the same time he is all she’s known because her mother has been so unable to process her grief and move on, that Wenqi is just an afterthought. Watching Wenqi have to become even more and more of an afterthought as her brother’s presence appears, and her mother is only interested in trying to keep his presence around, is heartbreaking for Wenqi, and very, very distressing to watch unfold as her mother becomes more and more obsessive and overcome.

And then on the flip side is Liam, a teenage boy in Wenqi’s neighborhood whose family has been a group of lingerers, desperate to get a house in HOME and who have stopped their lives and have resorted to camping out and hoping for a stroke of luck. Liam and Wenqi have similar frustrations of being the ones emotionally left behind while their parents are in deep grief, but it’s interesting seeing Liam on the other side of the coin, as his family is desperate to even have the opportunity, when it is not even a guarantee that they will have success. It was the portrayals of the lingerers that really messed with my head, as Jiang has one scene in particular that shows the lengths that the lingerers will go to try and have the chance to see those they loved again, even when it has all but ruined their lives and the lives of those that they brought with them. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, part of me wonders what I would do should I lose someone I love so fiercely and maybe have that opportunity. How far would I go? It’s a path I don’t want to think about too much. Which means it is SO PERFECT for a horror story.

“Linghun” is an effective and very eerie novella that is up there with other meditations on grief with a horror backdrop. If that kind of not so cheerful premise is your jam, this is a story you definitely need to check out.

Rating 8: A strange and melancholy story about grief and loss and how it can cling to a person until obsession has taken over.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Linghun” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists yet, but I think that similar horror stories about grief like “Pet Sematary”, “Ghost Eaters”, and “Horns” would be good fits.

Highlights: April 2023

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As predicted, March was a big dud on the whole “spring” front. Instead, we had several dumps of snow and had to shovel quite a lot. But we’re all really crossing our fingers that April will come through for us! At least the temperatures are begrudgingly climbing out of the below thirties and it’s getting lighter and lighter later in the evenings. Of course, more light just means more time to read before feeling guilty about not getting the sleep we guess we need. Here are some books we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “One for My Enemy” by Olivie Blake

Publication Date: April 4, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I feel like Olivie Blake is kind of taking the “Silvia Moreno-Garcia” route to book popularity. She had published several books already before she became a big hit. And now publishers are digging into her back catalog and breathing new life into some of these titles that didn’t get major releases the first go around. So, too, “One for My Enemy,” a “Romeo and Juliet” retelling that places the classic love story in modern NYC and also adds in a healthy dose of Russian folklore, like Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless. Every single aspect of that sounds great to me, so I can’t wait to see what this has to offer! I’ve also never read a book by Blake before, so this should be a great first introduction!

Book: “Untethered Sky” by Fonda Lee

Publication Date: April 11, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I really loved Fonda Lee’s “Jade City” trilogy. But it can’t be denied that all three were fairly massive tomes. So I was excited to see that she was releasing a novella next, something where I could again experience the thrill of her action-packed writing style and creative world build while also…not having to commit tons of time to the endeavor. I also love the general premise of this book, a young woman who makes it her life’s mission to join a group who trains and flies massive birds, using them to protect the realm from dangerous manticores. Plus, the cover on this one is super cool; who could pass on that??

Book: “Divine Rivals” by Rebecca Ross

Publication Date: April 4, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Here’s another author whose work I’ve already really enjoyed! Plus, this one is ticking a lot of my own particular boxes. As the name suggests, it’s an “enemies to lovers” romance that focuses on a pair of journalists who are vying for the same promotion at the newspaper where they work. But Iris, the young woman of the pair, soon takes a job that brings her to the front lines in a war between gods. As a big fan of Lois Lane, I’m always down for a story about intrepid reporters in my fantasy stories. I can’t wait to check this one out!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “The Haunting of Alejandra” by V. Castro

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Why I’m Interested: There are two big blaring elements of this book that makes me super, super excited for it. The first is that I really love V. Castro’s horror style, as she has lyrical prose, a lot of feminist perspectives, and a Chicana voice that comes to all of her stories. The other is that I have been full on obsessed with the La Llorona folktale ever since I was in grade school. The idea of a weeping woman snatching up children scared the piss out of me, and I’ve loved it ever since. So V. Castro taking on La Llorona is PERFECTION! Alejandra is a frazzled mother of three in a crumbling marriage. She has been uprooted from Texas to Pennsylvania due to her husband’s job, and staying at home with the kids is stressful. On top of that she’s started seeing visions of a sinister, sobbing woman in white, and her hatred towards herself is spilling over. When she starts to look into her family history and the women before her, their unspoken traumas also led to the woman in white. Alejandra needs to solve the mystery of this family curse before she falls to it as well. GIVE IT TO ME!

Book: “Sisters of the Lost Nation” by Nick Medina

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Why I’m Interested: This is an example of one that has been popping up on my various social media feeds from book influencers and lovers that I know and love. Given that this is a debut I am unfamiliar with Nick Medina, but this one has enough buzz that I have high hopes to be adding a new must read author to my list! Anna is an Indigenous girl living on a reservation just trying to get through each day, between the cruelties of her peers and the outside visitors to the casino she is always on alert. Then girls in the community start to disappear, with members of the tribe looking for answers but finding little, and Anna begins to try and do her own investigation into the missing girls as well as the history of the reservation and the casino. And when her own sister disappears, Anna’s investigation becomes personal. But she starts to wonder if otherworldly forces are coming into play. It sounds like a mix of a hardboiled mystery and some kind of horror story, so obviously I’m in.

Book: “For You and Only You” by Caroline Kepnes

Publication Date: April 25, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Can I just say ‘it’s the new Joe Goldberg book’ and call it a day? No? Okay, well, fine, I can expand on that. It’s the new Joe Goldberg book, and I love the “You” series so I am always going to be amped when a new one comes out. But I am also always interested in seeing what Joe is going to do next, and how author Caroline Kepnes is going to keep the very clear formula of these books (aka Joe obsesses over a new one, stalks her, and fucks her life totally up) fresh, interesting, and suspenseful. After the death of Mary Kay and a short stint in Florida, Joe is now living in Boston and has written a book! Not only that, he has entered an fellowship program at Harvard in hopes of getting his book out there and promoted by some of the best academic minds in literature. But Joe is predictably Joe, and when he meets fellow aspiring author Wonder he is completely obsessed. But Joe’s past is filled with skeletons, they are starting to crop up. Welcome back, Joe!

What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!