Category: Serena’s Reviews

Serena’s Review: “The Coven”

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Book: “The Coven” by Harper L. Woods

Publishing Info: Bramble, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: Raised to be my father’s weapon against the Coven that took away his sister and his birthright, I would do anything to protect my younger brother from suffering the same fate. My duty forces me to the secret town of Crystal Hollow and the prestigious Hollow’s Grove University―where the best and brightest of my kind learn to practice their magic free from human judgment.

There are no whispered words here. No condemnation for the blood that flows through my veins. The only animosity I face comes from the beautiful and infuriating Headmaster, Alaric Grayson Thorne, a man who despises me just as much as I loathe him and everything he stands for.

But that doesn’t mean secrets don’t threaten to tear the school in two. No one talks about the bloody massacre that forced it to close decades prior, only the opportunity it can afford to those fortunate enough to attend.

Because for the first time in fifty years, the Coven will open its wards to the Thirteen.

Thirteen promising students destined to change the world.

If the ghosts of Hollow’s Grove’s victims don’t kill them first.

Review: So, I’ll be honest, I was a bit nervous going into this one, because based on the description alone I was getting strong “Gothikana” vibes. And we all remember how I felt about that… That said, there was a reason I picked that book up in the first place, and it’s the same one that drew my interest in this book: dark academia! I’m also always down for gothic vibes and romance. Though, I’m always a bit concerned when we venture too far into the realm of “student/teacher” type love stories. But let’s see how this one did!

Well, I did struggle a bit with this one, but it was definitely not the complete dumpster fire that was “Gothikana,” so at least we’re moving in the right direction! For one thing, this one was simply better written. The prose flows fairly well and, for the most part, the dialogue feels natural. And since we’re starting with writing, I’ll say that the spicy scenes were on the better side as well. This, of course, is very subjective, but I often find myself cringing during many authors’ approach to intimate scenes, but these seemed to be on the better side, avoiding many of the pitfalls I personally struggle with.

I also enjoyed the start of the book and meeting the main character, Willow. Her magical abilities were interesting and her backstory for why she was coming in to the school late felt like it was leading to a good arc. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the male main character, Gray. Not only does the book lean hard into “insta-love” between these two, but Gray is a fairly unlikable character all around. Now, to be fair, the author did provide a note in the beginning of the book about this character’s villainous tendencies, so I can’t say that I wasn’t warned. At the same time, he’s truly unlikable! There’s a fine line between writing a love interest who falls on the darker side of things, and then writing one who is just a manipulative jerk and a walking red flag. Gray is definitely the latter. So much so that I felt even more attached to Willow purely on a maternal level in that I kept wanting to dive into the book and be like “Girl, no!”

The plot was also all over the place. Things were happening, sure, but at times it felt almost random. Plot points would be introduced, dropped, re-visited and discarded at any given moment. It was incredibly difficult to know what exactly I was meant to be focusing in on at any moment, and this erratic approach to plotting left the pacing very off. I found myself becoming more bored than I should have been, given the amount of action that was taking place. But if all of the plot pieces are as disconnected as these, it’s almost the same as having no plot in the first place.

Overall, this was just an ok read. I’ll probably check out the second one, just because I’m trying to give more authors/series a second chance, but I do have concerns, based on this book. There is potential here, but the balance between the “romance” (insta-love) and the actual plot of the story felt off. I’d say readers who enjoy very villainous, dark romantic leads are the most likely to enjoy this one. But if you’re at all wary on that front, probably best to pass this one up.

Rating 7: There was potential in the main character and some of the fantasy elements, but I hated the male main character way too much to bump this one further up.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Coven” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Best Romantasy Books from Indie Authors in 2023 and Red Flowers – Covers.

Serena’s Review: “Ghostsmith”

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Book: “Ghostsmith” by Nicki Pau Preto

Publishing Info: Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: In this action-packed finale to the House of the Dead Duology, Wren and her friends put everything they know to the test as they battle the living and the undead to save their world.

Wren is still reeling from the revelation that the mother she thought was dead is actually the Corpse Queen, a ghostsmith with the terrifying power to control the undead. It was Wren’s own mother who created the iron revenants—an army of near unbeatable undead soldiers. When the iron revenants attack, no one in the Dominions will have the strength to stand in their way.

Now Wren, Leo, and Julian find themselves once more in the Breach, this time on the run from Wren’s father, who is determined to secure more power for himself and the House of Bone. The three are desperate to stop the upcoming war, but working together is easier said than done with Julian still furious about Wren double-crossing him. And to make matters worse, Wren is plagued by powerful new abilities that force her to reassess everything she knows about being a bonesmith.

When Wren’s long-lost twin brother shows up and vows to help her destroy the well of magic that feeds the iron revenants, she must decide if trusting him is worth potentially playing right into their mother’s hands.

After all, the dead might be dangerous, but it’s the living who can betray you.

Previously Reviewed: “Bonesmith”

Review: I remember picking up “Bonesmith” last summer with some trepidation. I was mostly reading it because it was an upcoming selection in a book box I subscribe to and wanted to decide whether or not to skip it, as I’d read a book by this author before and not been overly impressed. Well, more fool me, I absolutely loved the first entry in this duology! It had a unique fantasy world, a badass leading character, and a well-paced enemies-to-lovers romance. It also ended on not necessarily a cliffhanger, per see, but with a few major reveals and betrayals shaking things up. So, let’s find out how well the story was wrapped up here in the second book!

For the most part, I think this was an incredibly successful conclusion to the story. I had a few niggling qualms here or there, but, overall, the story came together nicely. While the first book did a lot of the heavy lifting with regards to introducing this world and its magic, with the (re)introduction of ghost smiths and ghost magic in the latter half of that story, this book still had a lot of new territory to cover. In particular, I was impressed by how carefully many of the reveals were used throughout the book. As the plot progresses, little bits of lore are dropped in here and there, steadily fleshing out the history and culture of the lost ghost smiths until, by the end, the climax revolves fully around this history and the uses of this style of magic. For the large amount of new information that was necessary to build this ending, I was impressed by how organically this knowledge was fed to the reader. There were no clunky info-dumping sections or dialogue that was obviously just there as exposition. It was very skillfully done.

I also enjoyed the continuation of the darker tone of this duology. There is humor to be found in Wren’s dialogue and inner commentary, but much of the plot is quite serious and dealing with fairly gruesome magic. In this book, this was balanced out by an increased depth of emotion found in the relationships on the page. Not only is there the romance between Wren and Julian, challenged by the betrayals and reveals from the previous book, but the story also tackles many different familial ties as well. Wren’s entire family history is one big knot of tragedy and abuse, but by the middle point of this story, it almost feels like she got the easy side of things! Instead, her newly found brother’s past is littered with even more tragedy and disfunction than Wren herself endured. While Wren’s life was ruled by a distant father figure, her brother has dealt with the abuse found at the hands of a manipulative and selfish mother. We also see their sibling bond explored as the story progresses, adding an interesting new dynamic to Wren’s approach to the problems before her.

I continued to love Wren as a main character, and her growth in this book felt natural and interesting. Her arc was one of coming to turns with her own magic, as well as with the family history that she is only know beginning to understand. However, throughout it all, she maintained her snappy attitude and “barge right through it” mentality to problem solving.

That said, my main point of struggle came down to the other character perspectives, specifically Leo’s and, new to this book, Inara’s. Now, there was nothing actually wrong with either of these character’s stories. And, in fact, I’d say that I really enjoyed Inara as a new voice in the book. But it did feel as if both characters’ stories were simply there to provide a window into action scenes that were taking place in different parts of the world and didn’t serve any actual character purpose on their own. Leo, especially, could have been almost lifted from this entire book with no one the wiser.

I also felt that we had too little time spent between Wren and Julian. On one hand, I understand this, as this book’s driving relationship was much more focused on Wren and her brother. And that story was fantastic! That said, I still felt as if there were only a brief few scenes where these two really even interacted. It was great stuff when they did, but I still wanted more. Perhaps a better balance between some of Leo’s more unnecessary chapters and these scenes between Wren and Julian would have helped round out the story better.

That said, I found this book to be an epic conclusion to the duology! The climax of the story, in particular, was action-packed and thrilling. The story may have suffered a bit from “Return of the King”-style multiple endings by the very finish, but, as I still wanted all of those scenes, I’m not sure what I would have done differently there. If you enjoyed the first book, you can rest assured that the conclusion is well-earned and satisfying!

Rating 8: Bone-chilling at times and full of heart at others, this duology has it all!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Ghostsmith” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2024

Serena’s Review: “A Sorceress Comes to Call”

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Book: “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Tor, August 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

Review: I can’t emphasize enough just how much self-control it has taken to diligently get through my June and July books before reading this one. Thanks to NetGalley/Edelweiss/publishers, I have the opportunity to read these books sometimes months in advance, and man is it tempting to skip right to my most-anticipated titles! But, at last, here we are! Another T. Kingfisher book to review!

It’s hard for me to say which type of Kingfisher book I like best. I’ve love all of the original fantasy books that she’s written that exist within one world (there are several different series and a few stand-alones all in this same world). I’ve enjoyed her horror stories, several of which Kate and I have joint reviewed on the blog. And then, of course, I’ve gobbled up her fairy-tale re-imagings. This book is one of the latter, this time seeing Kingfisher tackle a loose re-telling of “The Goose Girl.”

Honestly, I’m not as familiar with this fairtyale as I am with others, but in some ways that may have worked in my favor. Not only did I not have expectations about which story beats needed to be hit when, but I was also better able to flow with the shifts in focus that Kingfisher took in the story. That said, there are elements that she takes from the original and twists in very…um…disturbing ways! If you’re familiar with the original story, you’ll remember that the talking horse companion ends up meeting a fairly grisly fate. Kingfisher saw that version of the story and decided to raise the creepiness factor to about an 11! (Another side note: I love reading her author note’s at the end because they are often just as entertaining as the book itself. This time it was particularly funny because as I read this book, I found myself getting stuck on the thought that this author sure does write a lot of creepy horses. And then low and behold, in her author’s note she goes “You may be wondering just what my problem with horses is…” Why, yes, I was! I won’t spoil the explanation, but it’s as amusing as everything else from her!)

One of the things that most impresses me about Kingfisher’s work is the manner in which she balances many different tones all in one, fairly contained book. In this story, we not only have the trappings of a re-told fairytale, but we have comedy, we have tragedy, we have romance, and we have a healthy dose of horror. And none of these elements over shine the others! I will say, the horror aspects stand out particularly well in this one. Not only with the aforementioned horse, but also with the sorceress herself and her disturbing powers. Up to the very end, I was on the edge of my seat worrying how our characters were going to get out of this situation!

I also loved all of the characters. And again, I’m impressed by how Kingfisher works against stereotypes in this area. I personally often struggle with child/middle school aged main characters, but Cordelia was a fantastic lead character. She was believably written for her age while also serving an important role within the story. It’s all too easy to have young characters in books like this who are either side-lined because there is nothing for them to contribute, or are written in a way that makes them come off as a person much older than they are. Not so here!

But I loved Hester most of all, the 50-year old woman who first suspects that there is something strange about Cordelia and her beautiful mother. This was perhaps less of a surprise, as I’ve now read several older women characters written by this author and they have all been fantastic! I also very much enjoyed the love story here, though it was definitely a sub plot to the challenge of the dealing with Cordelia’s mother. That said, while I loved the romance, this is also where the book fell from a 10 to a 9. Throughout the book, we get great insight into Hester’s mindset and the mental challenges she’s faced with aging and her perception of herself as a romantic partner. This was all excellent and incredibly relatable. But as the story continued, I never felt like this was truly resolved. The romantic interest is never brought into what Hester is thinking, and as this has impacted their decades-long one-and-off relationship, it really felt like he deserved to understand what was going on here. We didn’t need to have a “Hallmark moment” type scene, but some sort of resolution on this front would have really tied it together.

So, no surprise here, I loved this book! I’ve had my pre-order in for months now, and I as justified as ever in continuing to buy her books the second they come available! Fans of fairytale re-tellings should definitely check this one out, as well as any/all Kingfisher fans out there!

Rating 9: Truly a master storyteller! Kingfisher makes the process of jumping from genre to genre look easy!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Sorceress Comes to Call” can be found on these Goodreads lists: My favorite Fairytale Fantasy novels. and The Goose Girl Retellings.

Serena’s Review: “The Dead Cat Tail Assassins”

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

Book: “The Dead Cat Tail Assassins” by P. Djeli Clark

Publishing Info: Tordotcom, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins―resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories―have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.

The third and the once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget.

Review: I got to meet this author back when Kate and I went to ALA in Chicago in 2023, so he’s been on my list of writers to check out for a bit. Not to mention, I’m always interested in a fantasy story featuring assassins, so this book was an obvious request for me! Plus, the title is intriguing as heck!

This was one of those books that felt familiar and a bit like a homecoming in the best of ways. This isn’t to say that the story, characters, or world were unoriginal, more so it was the fact that they all so neatly referenced many other familiar, beloved traits found in similar fantasy stories. Eveen, in particular, while still very much her own character, also reminded me of other beloved similar characters (Keesan from “Godkiller” comes to mind). She was that perfect combination of hardened, rather sarcastic warrior woman who finds her straight-forward approach to the world suddenly challenged. She was funny, powerful, and charismatic, and I would read more books about her any day of the week!

I also really enjoyed the world-building that went into this book. It’s a novella, so the author had to be judicious with how to build in the framework of this world while not cutting into the fast-paced action of the story. The entire story takes place over a 24-hour period of time, and yet between all of the fighting and running and scheming scenes, I still felt as if I understood this world of undead assassins and the powerful families who would wield them for their own goals. The concept of the undead assassins was also very interesting; it was one of those ideas you find in fantasy stories that are deceptively simple and yet brilliant when played out on the page.

While some of these fantasy elements and characters (both main and side) felt vaguely familiar (again, in the best way), the ending of this book packs a major punch with the way it resolves the greater conflict. I can truly say I didn’t see that last twist coming at all, and not only was it clever, but it perfectly wrapped up many of the threads of the story that had begun to feel impossibly knotted.

I also really enjoyed the numerous side characters sprinkled throughout the book. Eveen will always be my favorite, but her greatness was supported by the variety of other “Dead Cat Tail Assassins” we meet throughout the story, each with their own unique fight style. Rounding out the cast was the target of Eveen’s assassination mission, a young woman with a connection to Eveen’s forgotten past that is shocking and propels the entire story forwards.

I enjoyed the heck out of this story! I sat down and read it one sitting (this is helped by it being a fairly short story), completely drawn in by the fast-moving plot and hilarious main character. I definitely recommend this one for all fantasy readers, especially those looking for an action-packed story that features a compelling leading lady!

Rating 9: Crackling with action and humor, I finished the last page wishing for only one thing: more!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Dead Cat Tail Assassins” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Best Outside-the-box Speculative Fiction and Adult Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative Novellas by BIPOC Authors

Serena’s Review: “This Ravenous Fate”

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Book: “This Ravenous Fate” by Hayley Dennings

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: It’s 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family’s thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, giving them more power than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise’s mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.

Layla Quinn is a young reaper haunted by her past. Though reapers have existed in America for three centuries, created by New World atrocities and cruel experiments, Layla became one just five years ago. The night she was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the Saints, and her humanity, and she’ll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her.

But some reapers are inexplicably turning part human again, leaving a wake of mysterious and brutal killings. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can’t refuse: to work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure. Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city’s underworld, confronting their intense feelings for one another and uncovering the sinister truths about a growing threat to reapers and humans alike.

Review: One of the most fun parts of reading historical fiction is the broad swath of time periods and places one has to pick from! There’s almost always something new, with different places and times presenting a plethora of unique story opportunities. So now you have a book that not only explores 1920s New York City but pairs it with a lesbian vampire romance? Sounds super weird and super interesting!

While this wasn’t a perfect read for me, it still was a pretty good one! First of all, the setting didn’t let me down. I loved exploring this time period and its version of New York City, with its dark alleys contrasted with its vibrant night life. The author definitely succeeded in creating a sense of space with its specific vibe and culture. While I think a bit more could have been done with the world-building on the fantastical side, the author seems to effortlessly capture the essence of a large city.

Part of this comes down to her lyrical style of writing. I loved the turns of phrase and varied word choice the author used in crafting this book. If nothing else, this is a beautiful book to read on its own merits as a written product. I often find that a more lyrical approach to writing often results in a bit of a slower paced story, and so we have here. But like my experience with most books written in this style, I was happy to settle in and enjoy the ride, even if it wasn’t the most action packed at times.

I also enjoyed the characters, for the most part. However, Layla was doing much of the work here. I found her to be an interesting character, a young woman who had gone through much in her short life and was rising to meet the challenges placed before her. Elise was the more complicated one. Part of this is built into her character: she’s lived a very priveleged life and is in the midst of still trying to earn the love of an abusive parental figure. Both of these elements, while interesting, did leave her in the unfortunate position of being a very frustrating character to follow. It would be frustrating how little she recognized her own privilege at one point, and then infuriating not to see her stand up to the abuse in her life, even when she’s beginning to fully understand it. That said, these are complicated issues to write about, and there’s really no believable way to do it that wouldn’t run into the growing pain frustrations we dealt with here.

The romance between these two was also only ok. Unfortunately, I feel like the style of writing struggled most with clunky dialogue, and this impacted my ability to really invest in the love story between these two. On paper, this love story should have been right up my alley, but for some reason, it failed to really land for me.

Overall, this was a pretty fun read. I think it almost succeeds more as a historical book than a fantasy, as I feel like the style of writing was at its peak when it was describing the city of New York in this time period. The lore of the reapers, while interesting, didn’t feel quite fully fleshed out. I also thought some of the mystery aspects were quite predictable, with the villainous characters presenting very obviously as such. If you enjoyed historical fiction and aren’t burnt out on the resurgence of vampire fantasy, than this one might be worth checking out!

Rating 8: The lyrical style of writing is at its best when creating this fascinating version of the underworld of New York City in the 1920s!

Reader’s Advisory:

“This Ravenous Fate” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Queer Books Set in the 1920s and Queer Vampire books

Serena’s Review: “Down Comes the Night”

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

Book: “Down Comes the Night” by Allison Saft

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

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

Book Description: He saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness.

Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend–the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself.

The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths.

With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall.

Review: This is one of those funny books that made its way up my TBR list in a unique way. In that, I’ve now read and very much enjoyed two different books by Saft in the past, and then the other day while I was going through my backlog of NetGalley requests to find a new read, low and behold, there was a (several years old) book I’d requested from the very same author! It’s also clear that this might not be that unique of a situation, as the publisher has now re-released this book with this updated cover. Funny how that goes, when an author releases one or more books before they finally strike upon one that opens readers’ eyes to their potential, and then bam! That back catalog of book suddenly seems well worth a second look! A very similar thing happened with Syvia Moreno Garcia after she published “Mexican Gothic.” Of course, I was a fan before it was cool! 😉 Anyways, on to the review for this book.

I really enjoyed this one! Of course, it had a lot of things I like going for it from the start: a sympathetic leading lady, strong female friendships, creepy gothic vibes, and a lovely slow-burn romance. Let’s start with the main character! I really appreciated the overall arc that Wren travels over the course of the book. In the start, we see her struggling against the judgements and expectations of those around her, people she loves and respects, all of whom are telling her that her sympathy and emotional decision making are weaknesses that must be suppressed. As the story continues, we see Wren push back against this, slowly beginning to reclaim the power of her own sensitivities and instinctual kindness. But it’s not a straightforward journey, and I appreciated the “two steps forward, one step backward” nature of her story. It’s not an easy thing to throw off the expectations of those you admire and to instead choose to follow your own path, and we see Wren struggle more than once to follow through on what she knows to be right, in her heart.

While it took a bit to get there, I loved the time we spent in the gothic-inspire manor. It had all of the slow-build dread and lingering horror that one looks for in a haunted house. Saft’s lyrical style of writing shone particularly strongly in these depictions, and there were scenes and settings here that truly gave me the shivers. And, of course, on top of that we have enigmatic lord of the house, with all of his secrets to be slowly revealed. I did feel like some of these secrets and mysteries were perhaps a bit easy to guess, but it’s one of those cases where the conventions of this sort of story betray it a bit, as far as these reveals go. Even if the reader has their suspicions, the experience of the gothic story makes up for some of the predictability.

I also really enjoyed the relationships in this book. Of course, the love story is the primary focus, and this was as sweet and lovely as you could wish for. There were even a few bumps in the road that I hadn’t fully anticipated which helped to add a greater level of depth to a relationship that could have become a bit too straight-forward. However, the more complex relationships came in the form of Wren’s best friend (and first love interest) and the Queen, Wren’s aunt. Through these female relationships, the book explores the challenges of close relationships, the ways in which those we care about can hurt us and misunderstand us more than anyone else. And, of course, likewise. The Queen, in particular, was an interesting character, because for much of the story, she’s almost cartoonishly horrible to Wren. So I was pleased to see a greater level of depth brought to her later in the book.

I will say, however, that now having read three books by this author, it does seem to me that she struggles with pacing towards the end of books. Like “A Fragile Enchantment,” the final third of this book is a roller-coaster ride of building conflict, a seeming resolution, only to lead directly into another conflict. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what the problem is, but there’s something off with the pacing and the reader’s ability to feel like the story is building to a true climax. Instead, you keep getting these mini climactic moments, not knowing which is meant to be the true one. It’s too bad, because the first parts of this book (and the others from Saft where I’ve struggled with a similar problem) are well-paced. It’s specifically an issue with the endings.

That said, I did enjoy how it all wrapped up, and the overall experience was good. Fans of this author, or those looking for a “cozy/gothic” fantasy story should definitely give this one a go!

Rating 8: Saft continues to impress with her incredible female leads and her swoon-worthy romances!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Down Comes the Night” isn’t on many Goodreads lists, but it is on Books with “Night” in the title.

Serena’s Review: “The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh”

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

Book: “The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh” b y Claudia Gray

Publishing Info: Vintage, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss!

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

Book Description: The third book in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which finds the amateur sleuths facing their most daunting challenge preventing the murder of the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Someone is trying to kill Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Esteemed aunt of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, generous patroness of Mr. William Collins, a woman of rank who rules over the estate of Rosings Park with an unimpeachable sense of propriety—who would dare ? Lady Catherine summons her grand-nephew, Mr. Jonathan Darcy, and his investigative companion, Miss Juliet Tilney, to find out.

After a year apart, Jonathan and Juliet are thrilled to be reunited, even if the circumstances—finding whoever has thus far sabotaged Lady Catherine’s carriage, shot at her, and nearly pushed her down the stairs—are less than ideal. Also less than their respective fathers, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Henry Tilney, have accompanied the young detectives to Rosings, and the two men do not interact with the same felicity enjoyed by their children.

With attempts against Lady Catherine escalating, and no one among the list of prime suspects seemingly capable of committing all of the attacks, the pressure on Jonathan and Juliet mounts—even as more gentle feelings between the two of them begin to bloom. The race is now on to provoke two one from the attempted murderer before it is too late—and one, perhaps, of love.

Previously Reviewed: “The Murder of Mr. Wickham” and “The Late Mrs. Willoughby”

Review: I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next installment in this mystery series pretty much from the second I put down the previous book! It’s always a bit of a question mark when an author produces a fantastic first book in a series. But nothing compares to the relief of finishing the second one with the reassurance that it wasn’t a one off thing! No, Claudia Gray is just that talented! It also takes a lot of the low-key dread out of waiting for the next book. Yes, I’ve been impatient, but I knew when it finally arrived, it would be well worth the wait! And how right I was!

As I’ve said, I very much enjoyed the first two books in the series. But while I still rated the book previous to this one highly, it was a bit held back by the Austen characters involved in the mystery. I love “Sense and Sensibility,” but Elinor is the obvious draw, with Marianne coming in a distinct second. On top of that, Mr. Willoughby is so despicable a character the he’s the sort of villain that you don’t so much “love to hate” but just straight up hate. And then in the original, we never even meet Mrs. Willoughby. All of this to say, while that book was good, it was a bit hampered by the fact that the mystery revolved around a cast of characters who fall a bit further down on my list of preferred Austen characters.

Not so with this one! People often think only of Elizabeth and Darcy when they think of the brilliance that is “Pride and Prejudice.” But Gray is here to remind us of the phenomenal comedic characters that fill out that story, creating a mystery that revolves around the people who make up the Rosings Park household. As the title would suggest, we get a heavy dose of Catherine de Bourgh and her…particular approach to being the target of attempted murder (scorn, sometimes even at the fact that the would-be-murderer has been so incompetent as to not even be successful!).

We also get a better look into the Collins’s family. Mr. Collins, of course, is hilarious, as is witnessing Miss Tilney’s skepticism that his adoration of Catherine de Bourgh has to be exaggerated, as no one could truly be that profuse in their exhortations of some like Catherine. Even more interesting, however, was the extended look we get into Mrs. Collins, Elizabeth’s old friend. This is obviously not the focus of the story, but there was a lot of interesting character work done with even the few chapters that really dive into Mrs. Collins and her psychology. I also enjoyed seeing more of Lady Catherine’s daughter, Miss de Bourgh, as well as her husband, Colonel Fiztwilliam. Again, with very little page time, I was impressed with how well Gray explored this sort of relationship, the kind where marriage comes first, love second, and even then, it is only slowly understood.

I also continue to be impressed by how masterfully Gray manages to depict what have to be intimidating characters to write, like Darcy and Elizabeth. But not only do they read as perfectly inline with the originals, but I loved see them put in the same scene with other Austen characters and, essentially, watching what happens. For example, we see Mr. Darcy and Mr. Tilney (two beloved heroes in their own right) immediately butt heads. With the former thinking the latter isn’t a serious person, and the latter thinking the former is a bit of a prig. It’s just so perfect! Of course this is how these two would react to one another!

And now I’ve written an incredibly long review without even touching on our main characters, Miss Tilney and Jonathan Darcy. But, of course, this is because they remain excellent. I will say that I was pleased to see them progress a bit more in this book. They’ve spent a fairly significant amount of time now misunderstanding the other’s interest, and I was becoming a bit worried that this would be drawn out too long. But instead, it’s handled well while still not resolving the entire situation. Specifically, I liked the exploration of Darcy’s struggles to put up a “more dignified” front in his hopes to “convince” Miss Tilney that he was a viable romantic interest. It was an interesting look into the mindset up a character with what seems to be low key autism.

Overall, I loved this book! It built on what had been previously established with regards to our main characters’ relationship, while also making neat use of a large cast of beloved (belovedly ridiculous!) characters. I can’t recommend this series enough to other Austen fans!

Rating 9: Simply fantastic, a masterful example of how to take classic characters and retain all that makes them great while also plopping them down in wholly novel places and situations to see what happens!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh” is on this Goodreads list: Austen Retellings.

Serena’s Review: “Long Live Evil”

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Book: “Long Live Evil” by Sarah Rees Brennan

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2024

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

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

Book Description: When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both ‘brilliant’ (Holly Black) and ‘supremely satisfying’ (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Review: It’s been a few years now, but I last read and reviewed this author when she wrote a YA mystery/fantasy trilogy. While that trilogy took a bit of a turn towards the worse as it went on, I remember distinctly enjoying the first book. So I was excited to see Brennan now dipping her toes into adult fantasy, knowing that I’ve enjoyed her books in the past and that part of my struggles before had to do with the “YA”-ness of it all. (This isn’t a general dig at YA; heaven knows I enjoy young adult literature as well. But sometimes it seems as if authors dumb down the stories when they’re writing for younger audiences, and this is my vague memory of what happened in “The Lynburn Legacy” trilogy.)

Regular readers may have noticed that I’ve been in a bit of a rut recently with my reviews, with several stuck in the “7 rating” zone. Well, the good news it that this one didn’t come in at a “7.” Bad news is that it came in at a “6.” But let’s start, as usual, with some good things. I’ll be honest, my experience of this book was fairly negative, but I will say that I liked the overall idea of the story. Not only is the idea of jumping into the pages of one’s favorite book a concept that almost all readers imagine, but pairing the fantastical aspects of that alongside the more serious nature of the main characters struggles with a terminal illness should have been the perfect balance to form a well-rounded reading experience.

Unfortunately, the entire thing falls apart in terms of execution. Pacing, characterization, plotting as far as late-game reveals that were easy to predict, it all was fairly weak. To go in order, the pacing was off from the start. For a book with such an exciting concept at its heart, the story begins with a strong sense of overall drag. While the information provided in this section is crucial to understanding the context for the story, including the introduction of the beloved book at the heart of the story and our main character’s motivations for choosing to travel there, it’s all laid out in such a clinical fashion as to be incredibly skim-worthy. It was then jarring to switch to a much more action-packed pace once Rae enters the book. But then, again, the story seem to become a slog during the middle, with Rae spending much of her time doing very little indeed. Frankly, given this entire set-up, it’s almost impressive that the story managed to become as dull as it did during this portion. It did pick up again towards the end, but that wasn’t enough to save the reading experience.

There was also an early disconnect between the tone and characterization that we are given in the first few chapters in the “real world” vs. what we experience when Rae travels to the land of the book. Yes, the “real world” must deal with some heavy topics regarding Rae’s illness, and I wouldn’t have a problem with this more subdued tone on its own. The problem lies in the complete, sudden 180 the book takes once she enters the book. We’ve spent a few chapters now with a fairly dour Rae, a young woman who is struggling with the shift her world has taken and with her relationship with her sister. But then within seconds of her taking on her role as the evil stepsister in the book, we have one quip after another. It’s just bizarre, and not in a good way. Yes, she’s in a fantastical realm, but she’s still the same person at her core. However, as it reads, this is a completely different person who just cracks jokes all of the time and has never even heard of the word “cancer.”

I also did not enjoy the comedy aspects of the story. And as that was a fairly major portion of the book, this was also a big problem for my read. Now, to be fair, campy humor is really never my thing. I don’t enjoy campy/corny movies, books, or really anything. So readers who do enjoy this style of humor may have an entirely different experience. But even with that aside, I felt like much of the humor here didn’t land. It felt very try-hard, and I had to catch myself during several eye-rolls.

This was a pretty big disappointment for me. Especially because I had been anticipating it quite a lot. I’ve enjoyed the author in the past, and I was very much hoping for a better version of what I had hoped Django Wexler’s book “How to Become a Dark Lord and Die Trying” would be. While I will say this one is probably more approachable to the general audience than that one, I still ended up having many of the same problems with it. The characters were flat, the comedy wasn’t funny, and the story itself was straight-forward and predictable. Perhaps if you very much enjoy campy humor this one will be for you. But, as a whole, I can’t recommend it.

Rating 6: It’s hard to recover if your comedic book isn’t funny; add on top of that poor pacing and weak characterization, and you ended up with a bit of a struggle book.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Long Live Evil” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists, but it should be on Oh the Villainy!–Evil Geniuses, Super Villains and Overlords.

Serena’s Review: “Castle of the Cursed”

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Book: “Castle of the Cursed” by Romina Garber

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, July 2024

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

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

Book Description: After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor’s guilt so intense that she might be losing her grip on reality, she accepts an invitation to live overseas with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.

Beneath its gothic façade, la Sombra harbors a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect her parents’ deaths may be linked to their past. Her investigation takes a supernatural turn when she crosses paths with a silver-eyed boy only she can see. Estela worries Sebastián is a hallucination, but he claims he’s been trapped in the castle. They grudgingly team up to find answers and as their investigation ignites, so does a romance, mistrust twined with every caress.

As the mysteries pile up, it feels to Estela like everyone in the tiny town of Oscuro is lying and that whoever was behind the attack has followed her to Spain. The deeper she ventures into la Sombra’s secrets, the more certain she becomes that the suspect she’s chasing has already found her . . . and they’re closer than she ever realized.

Review: One of my favorite subgenres recently has been gothic fantasy. There have simply been so many good ones of late that I almost have gotten to the point where I just expect them all to be amazing, simply by definition. I was also intrigued by the promise of a murder (?) mystery regarding the loss of Estela’s parents. And while I knew that a romance would be involved, and often I like a good romantic subplot, unfortunately the loves story brought it all down for me.

But let’s start with some positives! Of the three primary aspects of the story (gothic, mystery, romance) the gothic portion of the story fares the best. Once Estela gets to the estate, the author’s style of writing seemed to come more to life, effectively building tension and creating an atmosphere of barely-concealed horror. Second to the gothic aspects, the mystery was also compelling, especially in the beginning of the book when Estela is first beginning to realize that there is more going on here than a random, tragic accident. Once certain elements were introduced, I did feel like the big twist was a bit predictable, but on its own, I think this was a creative turn to the story. I wasn’t expecting the book to go quite so far into the fantastical as this one went, and for the most part, much of this was successful.

Unfortunately, the romance really killed it for me. A large part of this comes down to the fact that much of the story takes place over a very compressed number of days. I always struggle with love stories that develop this quickly; I can’t quite turn of my own skepticism over it all. That’s not to say, however, that a fast love story never works, but I do think it takes a very solid hand on characterization overall to pull it off. And here, neither Estela nor Sebastian were up to it. Both felt very flat, especially in their interactions with one another. Estela’s original arc, her struggles with the guilt of surviving the deaths of her parents, had a lot of potential. But the minute the love story started up, she seemed to lose much of this inner character work. And, again, this all happens rapidly, so it was difficult to believe in the sincerity of these emotions.

I also don’t want to get into spoilers with regards to some of the major twists in the end. But, essentially, I felt like the explanation for the resolution to the final conflict to be fairly ridiculous. It pretty much required the reader to disregard everything we’d seen from Estela up to this point and pretend that she was a very different character than she was. One of the things that I appreciated initially with this character was the struggles that she continued suffer through in the beginning of the story. But as the story went on, because the character became so consumed by the romance, we didn’t see the necessary growth to justify the things we were being told about her in the end. In fact, only a few pages before the fact, the character behaves in a manner that directly contradicts what we are later told is a crucial trait she contains!

Overall, I was a bit disappointed by this read. After a promising start, the story quickly began to fall flat and the characters were unable to hold my interest. The writing was strong enough and particularly shone with regards to the gothic/horror elements of the story. But the romance was uninspiring and dull, and as that ended up taking up a large chunk of the story, that killed it for me a bit. That said, romance is an incredibly subjective element of storytelling, so other readers may enjoy this one more than me!

Rating 7: While the gothic/horror elements were interesting, the characters and the love story failed to capture my imagination.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Castle of the Cursed” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Gothic and Ladies of Horror and Dark Fiction Writing.

Serena’s Review: “These Deathless Shores”

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Book: “These Deathless Shores” by P. H. Low

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2024

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

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

Book Description: Jordan was once a Lost Boy, convinced she would never grow up. Now, she’s twenty-two and exiled to the real world, still suffering withdrawal from the addictive magic Dust of her childhood. With nothing left to lose, Jordan returns to the Island and its stories—of pirates and war and the heartlessness of youth—intent on facing Peter one last time, on her own terms.

If that makes her the villain…so be it.

Review: I’ve written before about how I often find myself mentally considering certain books to be THE definitive re-telling of any particular fairytale or folk story. For example, it’s hard for me to imagine any story beating Robin McKinley’s “Beauty” as my definitive version of “Beauty and the Beast.” There are also fairytales and stories for which it has been notoriously difficult for me to find this “one true version.” “Peter Pan” is one of these. But I live in ever-lasting hope, so I was excited to check out this new version of the story, this time following grown-up “lost boys” who travel back to the magical island and now find themselves cast as the villains.

Unfortunately, I’m still on the hunt after reading this book. However, that’s not to say that this book didn’t have its own strengths and new takes on the classic story to explore. For one thing, I very much like the overall concept with these former “lost boys” (this is in quotes mostly because one of the main characters is a woman who had disguised herself as a boy when she was in Neverland to avoid the typical role of housekeeper that girls must play while there) travelling back as adults. And not only are our lead characters adults, but the entire story is very adult in tone. This is a bloody, grim look at the horrors that would lie at the heart of an island where kids spend most of their time fighting battles with pirates.

Even more so, the story centers addiction and childhood trauma as primary themes throughout the story. Obviously, these are not happy topics, but I think that added an interesting level of seriousness and severity to the tale. One of my struggle points with this book, however, came down to how it handled some of the discussions about addition. On one hand, I think some of it is incredibly effective, highlighting the on-going difficulties that people face, year after year. However, I’m not quite sure about how it was ultimately handled. Fairy dust is clearly a magical substance, so its addictive properties do not necessarily need to be based in reality. But the story almost dodges some of the harder aspects of this addition in the end of the book, and I’m not exactly sure what message was being conveyed here. That said, I could be missing something, and this all might work fine for other readers.

I also struggled a bit with the characters themselves, particularly Jordan. On her own, she had a lot of the traits I enjoy in my female main characters. She’s flawed, brash, and ruthless. However, I struggled more when it came to her relationship and interactions with Baron, her staunch childhood friend. At times, this relationship felt a bit strange, with Jordan seeming to take advantage of Baron’s friendship and feelings for her, almost bullying him at points. This could be simply that their temperaments were very different, but it just felt rather off throughout.

Overall, this was just an ok read for me. The tone was a bit too grimdark throughout, without enough levity to be found to counterbalance it in the way I wanted. I also liked the broader strokes of the characters, but their relationship also felt a bit off in a way that didn’t allow me to fully connect to their arc together. If you enjoy darker fantasy stories, however, this still might be one worth checking out!

Rating 7: Tackling dark themes of addiction and childhood trauma, this had a lot of potential, but began to feel weighed down by its own grim tone as the story went on.

Reader’s Advisory:

“These Deathless Shores” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists, but it should be on Peter Pan Retellings.