Category: Serena’s Reviews

Serena’s Review: “Among Thieves”

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Book: “Among Thieves” by M. J. Kuhn

Publishing Info: Gallery / Saga Press, September 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name.

For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her down…but even the most powerful men can be defeated.

Ryia’s path now leads directly into the heart of the Guildmaster’s stronghold, and against every instinct she has, it’s not a path she can walk alone. Forced to team up with a crew of assorted miscreants, smugglers, and thieves, Ryia must plan her next moves very carefully. If she succeeds, her freedom is won once and for all…but unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own.

Review: Here’s another book that’s been languishing on my TBR list until I saw that the sequel was coming out this summer and…oops! Better read the first one quick! One of the reasons I probably hadn’t gotten to this one right away is that I was feeling fairly burned out on these multi-POV heist books. I swear there was a year there where I read 5-6 books with different variations on this concept. But it’s been a bit now since I’ve read one, and, overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

One thing I appreciated right off the bat about this book was the fact that it is an adult fantasy novel rather than YA. I’ve found I’ve been struggling more and more with YA books that feature assassins as one of their main leads. For one thing, I struggle with the idea that a young teenager has somehow managed to develop the skills necessary in the short lives they’ve had, but then the story itself always tends to be extremely bloodless which just sits awkwardly with the entire concept. Here, while all of our characters read as young, in their twenties, they also have clearly lived dangerous and morally grey lives. They’ve killed, they’ve stolen, and they are willing to betray those they must to further their own life stories.

The story bounces back and forth between five different characters, but the focus is largely on the assassin, Ryia, and, to lesser extents each, the fallen soldier, Evelyn, and the smuggler/ship’s captain, Nash. All three are excellent characters, but Ryia by far is given the most story arch in this book. As the plot progresses, we learn more about her personal history and how this particular heist hits so close to home for her. However, I did have a soft spot in my heart for Nash. In many ways, she was maybe the most simple character in the entire book, being the only one not actively plotting to betray the others at any given moment. Like Ron in “Harry Potter” and Rachel in the “Animorphs” series (both favorites of mine), she was largely the heart of the little group, the brave one, the brash one, the sometimes foolishly straight-forward one. And I love her so much!

The writing and pacing of the story is quite fast paced. There were very few moments between action sequences, which I think worked in the book’s favor. Whenever the story slowed down too much, I did find myself getting stuck on the obviousness of a few supposed “reveals” in the story. There is one character in particular whose past is supposed to be a big mystery, but whose identity was fairly obvious quite early in the story. A certain artifact was also rather obvious in its powers, but our characters were fairly obtuse about this throughout much of the book. And then the romances, such as they were, felt very shallow and popping up out of not much of anything.

Still, it was a fun, fast read. I didn’t actively hate any of the character POVs (high praise indeed for me, as I’m definitely not typically a fan of this writing style), and I was able to finish it up in only a few sit-downs. If you’re a fan of heist stories, action-packed fantasy, and large casts of characters, this is definitely a good book for you!

Rating 8: While lacking in depth as far as characters and world-building, this was still a fun, fast read that I’d recommend as a good “beach read” type of fantasy novel.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Among Thieves” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Fantasy books with heists and Nautical Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “The Blighted Stars”

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Book: “The Blighted Stars” by Megan E. O’Keefe

Publishing Info: Orbit, May 2023

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

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

Book Description: When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them both there in the first place.

She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy his ship before it lands. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them.

Review: I’ve always loved Orbit’s covers for their books. I’m not sure who in charge of this over there, but whoever they are, they’ve been knocking it out of the park for years now. I always feel as if I can quickly glance at a cover of one of their books and already know exactly the sort of story I’m going to be getting. So, too, with this one. One glance…yep, gotta check that one out!

I read a lot more fantasy than I do science fiction, but there is one thing that both genres share that I think makes them unique to most other genres: that is the fact that you are often plopped down into worlds and environments that are completely unique, populated with new species, described with new language, embroiled in new conflicts. Often, the reader is left to accept a hefty dose of uncertainty early in the story with the promise that all will become clear with time. I think this willingness to simply not understand for a decent chunk of a story is a trait fairly unique to SFF readers. And it is a trait that will definitely be needed here! Right off the bat, O’Keefe begins throwing around terms and technologies that are completely unfamiliar to readers. It probably took a good 30 or so pages for me to even begin piecing together how some of these things worked.

But herein lies the other side of this particular coin: SFF readers know that if they wait it out, the end result will typically be a wildly creative and unique perspective on life and people. And so, too, do we see here. One of the main technologies explored in this book is the ability to “map” oneself into copies of the body. But this technology, that on its face seems like a massive win for society, also comes with complications and dangers. We see people mapped into the wrong bodies. We see these “maps” breaking when they are placed in a new body. We even see people’s “maps” split into several different bodies. There’s a lot of incredibly interesting applications of this technology, and I loved getting to explore and understand how it all worked.

The book also does a good job of using not only this technology but the state of the society in which it exists to explore a wide host of various themes, including environmental concerns as well as wealth and access to technology. I was pleased to see how organically these themes were woven throughout the story, with the author managing to avoid any large chunks of exposition or “preaching” styles of writing. Instead, these concerns played well within the larger plot of the story and alongside the various characters with whom we experience the book.

Speaking of characters, I really liked the ones we meet here. I was especially pleased to find that the banter and dialogue made for a very fun read. As I continued to read, these humorous aspects to the characters were incredibly necessary as a balance to some of the darker turns the story took. There was a particular event towards the end of the book that really surprised me, and I’m still not really sure how I feel about it. Which, all in all, is probably a good thing since, at the very least, I’ll be thinking about this one for a while as I wait for the sequel.

I haven’t read any other books by this author, but this was definitely an excellent introduction. I would recommend this to all space opera fans, especially those who enjoy a nice balance of humor and depth.

Rating 8: Exploring themes of environmentalism and societal privilege, this book manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny at times and heart-breaking at others. A roller-coater of emotions!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Blighted Stars” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Excellent Space Opera.

Serena’s Review: “Sing Me to Sleep”

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Book: “Sing Me to Sleep” by Gabi Burton

Publishing Info: Bloomsbury YA, June 2023

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

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

Book Description: Saoirse Sorkova survives on lies. As a soldier-in-training at the most prestigious barracks in the kingdom, she lies about being a siren to avoid execution. At night, working as an assassin for a dangerous group of mercenaries, Saoirse lies about her true identity. And to her family, Saoirse tells the biggest lie of all: that she can control her siren powers and doesn’t struggle constantly against an impulse to kill.

As the top trainee in her class, Saoirse would be headed for a bright future if it weren’t for the need to keep her secrets out of the spotlight. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens her sister, Saoirse takes a dangerous job that will help her investigate: she becomes personal bodyguard to the crown prince.

Saoirse should hate Prince Hayes. After all, his father is the one who enforces the kingdom’s brutal creature segregation laws. But when Hayes turns out to be kind, thoughtful, and charming, Saoirse finds herself increasingly drawn to him-especially when they’re forced to work together to stop a deadly killer who’s plaguing the city. There’s only one problem: Saoirse is that deadly killer.

Review: I have to say, this cover is not it. I don’t know what went wrong here, but the strangely shiny, overly-produced artwork, and cheesy coloring of the entire thing is all just terrible. There are definitely covers I like more than others and ones that are just kind of “meh,” so I don’t often comment on this aspect of books. But man, I really hate this one. And it’s too bad, because the premise is so interesting (Black girl siren!) that they really could have done something with that. Instead, we get this.

Unfortunately, my experience of this book as a whole largely matches my feelings towards the cover: a big, fat, “not for me.” But, per the usual for the blog, I do want to start out the review on a positive note with some of the things I appreciated about this book. And one thing that stood out as unique was its worldbuilding was the inclusion of various different mystical creatures and beings. Of course, we have the main character who is a siren (though I was disappointed by the amount of time that what was originally an oceanic creature spent in completely human form on land). But there were also witches and elemental fae. When we were exploring the world and learning how all of these various factions worked with (or against) one another, the book was fairly interesting. But, even here, a lot of this information was delivered in the very exposition-heavy first half of the book. There was potential, here, however, and given that this is the first book in what I believe is a duology, the world-building is set up in such a way as to leave so interesting possibilities going forward.

I also didn’t hate the love interest. Yes, he did read a bit “Mary Sue” for my liking at times. Of course his father, the king, is the most evil person ever. And, of course, the prince will right all of the horrible wrongs in the kingdom as easily as a snap of his fingers once he gains the thrown. But, overall, he was still a likable enough romantic lead. That said, his likability just exacerbated my main frustration which came down to a persistent dislike of the main lead.

I get that Saoirse is written to be a morally grey character. Being a siren with the inherently violent abilities that come with it, this is only to be expected. But man did I dislike her. She’s incredibly reckless and thoughtless throughout the book. Her motivations only make qualified sense, with a particular eye-brow raise towards her relationship with her sister. And then she goes on to straight up murder several people throughout the story. She does have an inner arc that explores some of this, but I found her inner thoughts and journey to be rather shallow and not truly grappling with the realities of the harm she has done. And then our prince just kind of hand-waves all the murder away as “he can’t stay mad at her.” Dude. She killed a bunch of people all around you. This isn’t a personality quirk that is annoying but kind of cute.

And look, I like books with assassins and warriors who, naturally, also kill people. But I do think it takes a particularly skilled author to get this balance correct. You can create a character who is so jaded by this lifestyle that they don’t really experience regrets or you can create a world where this is fairly normalized by everyone. If not either of these, and you’re trying to create a character who has to grapple with their actions, this has to lead to a pretty serious character arc and, perhaps, a darker end to the story. As it was, I was left incredibly unsatisfied by the was Saoirse actions were “dealt” with.

On top of that, this reads as a very young YA novel. The writing style is very simplistic, without a lot of expression or depth. At times it left the pacing feeling too slow, and others, too fast. I realize that this is a debut, so there is still room for the author to grow into her style. And, like I said, there were the nuggets of interesting ideas to be found in this world. But in a lot of ways the story felt too caught up in the tropes and expectations of YA fantasy. Perhaps freed from some of these concepts, the second book will be better. If you’re a devoted fan of YA fantasy and can tolerate the younger side of the genre, this might be worth checking out. But for the average fantasy fan, I’d have to recommend passing this one by.

Rating 6: Lackluster in almost every way, I never felt like I could truly connect to this book, largely due to what I found to be a supremely unlikable leading character.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Sing Me to Sleep” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Magical Creatures and Fantasy Books with Black Leads.

Serena’s Review: “Something Close to Magic”

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Book: “Something Close to Magic” by Emma Mills

Publishing Info: Atheneum, June 2023

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

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

Book Description: It’s not all sugar and spice at Basil’s Bakery, where seventeen-year-old Aurelie is an overworked, underappreciated apprentice. Still, the job offers stability, which no-nonsense Aurelie values highly, so she keeps her head down and doesn’t dare to dream big—until a stranger walks in and hands her a set of Seeking stones. In a country where Seeking was old-fashioned even before magic went out of style, it’s a rare skill, but Aurelie has it.

The stranger, who turns out to be a remarkably bothersome bounty hunter named Iliana, asks for Aurelie’s help rescuing someone from the dangerous Underwood—which sounds suspiciously like an adventure. When the someone turns out to be Prince Hapless, the charming-but-aptly-named prince, Aurelie’s careful life is upended. Suddenly, she finds herself on a quest filled with magic portals, a troll older than many trees (and a few rocks), and dangerous palace intrigue.

Even more dangerous are the feelings she’s starting to have for Hapless. The more time Aurelie spends with him, the less she can stand the thought of going back to her solitary but dependable life at the bakery. Must she choose between losing her apprenticeship—or her heart?

Review: I was very excited to receive a copy of this one for review from the publisher! I haven’t read anything else by this author, as I understand that this is her first foray into fantasy from contemporary style fiction. But I know that she’s fairly popular in that genre. Plus, I’ve had some good success with cozy fantasies lately, and who can go wrong with a story that features a protagonist who is an apprentice baker?!

There was a lot to like about this book, but for me, who often looks to character first in my enjoyment, I really think Mills knocked it out of the park. As I said, I haven’t read any of her other books, but I guess that she is known for writing great friends groups and found families. Both were nicely on display here. All four of the characters were well-drawn, sympathetic, and had excellent chemistry with one another. I find, often, that authors struggle with groups of characters like these to make individuals stand out from one another. Here, we have very different personality traits, different struggles, and different strengths that all nicely play off one another. There is also a lot of really great, snappy, sarcastic dialogue between the characters, something that I particularly enjoy.

The romance as also sweet and definitely on the cozy side. It was much more the kind of romance that is about slowly starting to realize you may love someone and then the conclusion being that understanding becoming clear. There were a lot of very cute and sweet scenes, and I think this will definitely appeal to those looking for a lower spice level in their love stories.

I also enjoyed this world (the trolls and their understanding of age was a fun concept!) and the magical elements. All of it is fairly simple and sweet, but I think that fits perfectly with the overall tone of this story. Epic fantasy this is not, and that’s ok! The pacing and plotting were also quick and snappy. I was able to finish this one up in only a few sit-downs. Perhaps the whole thing was a bit too surface level, overall, but I’m of a mind to not count that against it too much. There are definitely readers who enjoy these more approachable fantasy stories, and not everything has to include epic drama and sprawling worlds.

Rating 8: A sweet, fun, cozy mystery with a heart-felt heroine who you can’t help but root for! And whom you wish would make you baked goods!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Something Close to Magic” is on this Goodreads list: YA Releases June 2023

Serena’s Review: “The Book of Gems”

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Book: “The Book of Gems” by Fran Wilde

Publishing Info: Tor, June 2023

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

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

Book Description: Some truths are shatterproof…

It’s been centuries since the Jeweled Valley and its magical gems were destroyed. In the republics that rose from its ashes, scientists craft synthetic jewels to heat homes, power gadgetry, and wage war.

Dr. Devina Brunai is one of these scientists. She also is the only person who believes true gems still exist. The recent unearthing of the Palace of Gems gives her the perfect opportunity to find them and prove her naysayers wrong.

Her chance is snatched away at the last moment when her mentor steals her research and wins the trip for himself. Soon, his messages from the field transform into bizarre ramblings about a book, a Prince, and an enemy borne of the dark. Now Dev must enter the Valley, find her mentor, and save her research before they, like gems, become relics of a time long forgotten.

Review: First of all, thanks to Emily over at Tor for sending me an ARC of this title! I know Fran Wilde to be a very prolific SFF writer, but for whatever reason I hadn’t gotten around to reading one of her books yet. So this felt like as good of a time as any. I will say I wasn’t aware that this book was part of a series, but after some quick perusing, it seemed like it could also be read as a stand-alone, so I dove right in!

One of the harder things, sometimes, when picking up a SFF title that is part of a series but has also been marketed as a stand-alone is trying to center oneself in the world and any magic system that may or may not be present. Unlike contemporary or historical fiction, the reader cannot rely on a knowledge of our own world to fill in any gaps that may have been missed from previous books. So I think it’s a mark of Wilde’s talent that it was a fairly smooth process orienting myself with this world. Necessary information flowed out in a natural, timely way without any info-dumping early in the novel, and the patient reader will be rewarded by looking up about halfway through the read and realizing that they already do know everything they need to about this series even without any obvious “telling” sections.

Beyond how the information was given, I enjoyed the world and magic that was laid out here. The gems and the way they operate is clever and unique. I also really enjoyed the blending of several genres that we see here. Fantasy, of course, but there were also strong hints of the mystery and historical genres. As our main character is also a research, this book also hits on the currently quite popular “fantasy academia” subgenre. I’ve really enjoyed this resurgence and very much enjoyed this nice blending of many types of stories.

I also liked the character well enough. Though here I will say is where the story fell a bit flat for me. There was nothing wrong with any of them, but I also never felt supremely invested in our main character’s story or that of any of the side characters. Here, perhaps, is where more familiarity with the first two books could have helped, as a better sense and expectation of overall tone could have aided in my feeling invested in these stories. However, the characters were still interesting and competently portrayed, so fans of the first two books will likely be very pleased with what we get here.

Overall, this was a solid novella, and one that speaks to an interesting wider world. I’ll definitely have to go back and check out the first two books in the series!

Rating 7: Short, sweet, and with a vibrant world and magic system. The only flaw was my inability to feel incredibly invested in some of the characters.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Books of Gems” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but here are the other books in the series!

Serena’s Review: “Garden of the Cursed”

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Book: “Garden of the Cursed” by Katy Rose Pool

Publishing Info: Henry Holt and Co., June 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: Since fleeing the gilded halls of Evergarden for the muck-filled canals of the Marshes, Marlow Briggs has made a name for herself as the best godsdamn cursebreaker in Caraza City. But no matter how many cases she solves, she is still haunted by the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

When Adrius Falcrest, Marlow’s old friend and scion of one of Caraza’s most affluent spell-making families, asks her to help break a life-threatening curse, Marlow wants nothing to do with the boy who spurned her a year ago. But a new lead in her mother’s case makes Marlow realize that the only way to get the answers she desperately seeks is to help Adrius and return to Evergarden society—even if it means suffering through a fake love affair with him to avoid drawing suspicion from the conniving Five Families.

As the investigation draws Marlow into a web of deadly secrets and powerful enemies, a shocking truth emerges: Adrius’s curse and her mother’s disappearance may just be clues to an even larger mystery, one that could unravel the very foundations of Caraza and magic itself.

Review: There was so much to draw me in to first picking up this book that I’m not even sure what was my main motivation! Was is the cool, cyberpunk cover that stands out from the typical YA fantasy crowd? Was it the author, Katy Rose Poole, who has definitely proven herself as a powerhouse in YA fantasy fiction? Or was it the comparison to “Veronica Mars,” with the promise of a teenage investigator and her enemies-to-lovers romance? Any single one of these aspects would have had me racing to pick this one up. But all together? Immediately there!

This is one of those unique books where the comparison to a different popular franchise is definitely warranted. Remember that period of time a few years ago where some how every. single. YA. fantasy was somehow just like “Six of Crows?” Most of the time, publishers were clearly just trying to cash in on the popularity of a different series, regardless of how well it really paired with the book they were actually pushing. But let me say, this book not only earns its comparison to “Veronica Mars,” but it might even go a bit beyond? Let’s just say, if you’re very familiar with this popular TV series, you’re going to recognize A LOT of characters in this book, the history of our main lead, and even some of the plot points that play out throughout this book. I can lean two ways on this, frankly. I think, ultimately, that it works out fine. But there are moments were the similarities are almost so close that the book juuuuust brushes up against being some sort of alt-world fanfic of “Veronica Mars.”

But the world-building and magic system, I think, do enough to save it as an original work. While I could have used perhaps a bit more about just how exactly people learn to employ the curse-magic that is at the heart of the fantasy portions of this book, I was also pleased enough to just enjoy the creative, action-packed scenes in which this magic was used. Similarly, the world-building was interesting, if not fully realized. There were a few scenes, in particular the description of a university/library, that really stood out as fantastical and whimsical. But there were other moments where I had a hard time envisioning the type of world we were meant to be picturing, with a strange balance of old-world and modern technologies.

I really liked Marlow, for the most part. I loved that the book leaned into the “investigator” aspect of her character. She really is very much like Veronica Mars, and this is where the comparison can never be seen as a detraction, as both the original character and this “inspired by” version are incredibly likable and sympathetic. Marlow, like Veronica, is very capable, smart, and creative. But she also struggles with trusting others, and, over the course of the story, we see how isolating herself like this leads her to harm those around her as well as herself.

I will say that in the first action scene of the book where we meet Marlow, she gets into some trouble (because of course she does!) and then the description immediately goes to her tearing up and about to cry when confronted by a gangster. Now, look, I’ve gone on rants in the past about all the different kinds of strengths that can be found in heroines. I’m also all for embracing emotion and not treating it as a weakness. The problem here is that I think this description of Marlow early in the book (and then it comes up again later too with her near-crying in another scary situation) doesn’t sit naturally with the character we see throughout the rest of the book. It threw me out a little bit, ultimately, both times it came up.

I found the mystery itself to be a bit predictable, and I was able to guess the villain fairly quickly. I also struggled a bit with the romance. At times, the situation for them to “fake date” felt too forced. And then, while I appreciate that Marlow’s main arc had to do with her being forced to confront the realities of her inability to trust those around her, it was difficult to not want to shake her when she was so oblivious to the very obvious intentions and feelings of Adrius.

Rating 8: A fun, fast read that will definitely appeal to fantasy readers who are looking for a whip-smart leading lady and a slow-burn romance full of angst and drama.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Garden of the Cursed” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2023

Serena’s Review: “Psyche and Eros”

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Book: “Psyche and Eros” by Luna McNamara

Publishing Info: William Morrow, June 2023

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

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

Book Description: A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will conquer a monster feared by the gods. Beloved by her family but at odds with her society’s expectations for women, Psyche trains to become a hero, mastering blade and bow.

When Psyche angers Aphrodite, the love goddess enlists Eros, god of desire, to help deliver a cruel curse. Eros is the last born of the eldest gods, dry-witted and jaded, unsure of his place in the cosmos. The last thing he wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world, but when he pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche, Eros is doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet.

A joyous and subversive tale of gods, monsters, and the human heart and soul, Psyche and Eros dazzles the senses while exploring notions of trust, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be a hero. With unforgettably vivid characters, spellbinding prose, and delicious tension, Luna McNamara has crafted a shimmering and propulsive debut novel about a love so strong it defies the will of Olympus.

Review: Continuing to follow the ongoing trend of reimaging Greek/Roman mythology, I knew I had to check out this book when I saw it slotted for publication this summer. I also love the myth of Psyche and Eros, one of the few stories that doesn’t seem to end in abject tragedy. I was also feeling particularly optimistic going into this one after the awesome reading experience that was “Atalanta.” Before reading that one, I had been worrying that “Circe” might have been more of an exception than the rule. But the strength of that book refreshed my confidence that there were strong books to still be found, even in the midst of this boom in popularity where every other book seems to be of the same sort.

Alas, as it turns out, the comparison to “Atalanta” didn’t work in this book’s favor as much as I had hoped. I would have had struggles with this book either way, but I think reading it so quickly after didn’t help. And this speaks to my biggest frustration with this story, and that’s the characterization of Psyche herself. Being fairly familiar with the original tale, I had some strong ideas of the type of character Psyche was originally portrayed to be. And that was a normal, soft-hearted woman who finds the inner strength to fight for her love when she finds herself in extraordinary situations. She is a heroine much like the ones that I love so much from Juliet Mariller’s books. There is an author who excels at writing heroines who value the strengths of “traditional” women’s roles, caring for the home, focusing on healing, midwifery, embroidery, etc. But they are just as strong when fighting for those they love.

This is the character that Psyche is presented as in the original story. So imagine my frustration when, here, she has been re-worked into the typical outgoing, fighter woman that we so typically see. I loved Atalanta for being this sort of character, and it is true to her origins. But to re-make Psyche, a character whose strengths are very different and represent how all women, not just natural warriors, can fight for those they love, into that same sort of heroine? No, dislike. It’s not only a waste of an opportunity to place value on all women, but it makes Psyche just your same-old, average heroine we’ve all read a million times before.

So that was a long rant on one very specific aspect of the story. But for me, who places such a value on characterization in my stories, this was incredibly disappointing. Granted, this is a hugely subjective take, and I, too, enjoy the warrior woman character, so readers with different expectations of this book may not even blink at these changes. There are also a lot of changes to the story itself. The author, of course, chooses to set this during the siege of Troy, a decision that is fine, I guess, but draws a lot of timelines into conflict if you know much about the various gods and stories involved. There are also a lot of changes to the general pantheon and who is related to who and how. Again, if you’re not overly familiar, this may all work fine for you. It just didn’t for me.

Overall, I was very frustrated with this read. That said, I also think that there are large groups of readers who will simply gobble this book up and enjoy the heck out of it. The writing is solid, the love story is, of course, there. And the characters, on their own, are fine. They just aren’t the ones I was expecting or wanting.

Rating 6: Turning Psyche into a “warrior girl boss” is not the vibe I was here for, but if you’re not looking for a close re-telling of the original, you could still enjoy this story!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Psyche and Eros” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Retellings of greek and roman myths and Bows, Arrows, Spears.

Serena’s Review: “And Break the Pretty Kings”

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Book: “And Break the Pretty Kings” by Lena Jeong

Publishing Info: HarperTeen, June 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!https://amzn.to/41hV4dc

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

Book Description: A crown princess. A monster the gods fear. A destiny no one can outrun. Inspired by Korean history and myths, the first book in the Sacred Bone series is a rich and evocative high-stakes fantasy that is perfect for fans of Gallant and Six Crimson Cranes . Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae’s beloved older brother is taken—threatening the peninsula’s already tenuous truce. Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.  

Review: Another awesome, dramatic cover! I love bright colors and the overall theme; I feel like I knew exactly the sort of book I was picking up with once glance at this cover. I was also drawn in by the intriguing description and the mention that it was inspired by the historical time period of the three kingdoms of Korea, a time and place I know very little about. I’ve loved how many fantasy novels recently have pulled in Asian folklore and mythology, greatly diversifying a SFF landscape that has re-told a small selection of fables ad nauseum.

Just a note before we start, I’m going to rework my review style so that it matches what Kate has been doing more closely. Obviously, we each have our own distinct tones, but I’ve been writing my own summary of the book here in the second paragraph, and I’m now going to forego doing this. The summary is always included, and I did this more out of habit from my old review style before I was working in a blog format that already includes a summary. More and more often I find that I am spending too much time trying to find ways to re-word information that can be found directly above. So, like Kate, I’m now just going to dive straight into the reviews themselves!

So, this book was a strange read for me. It was definitely a case where I felt like there was potential around every corner. But then it never quite reached the highs I was hoping for. One thing that is unquestionable, however, is that this is a fast-moving romp of a story. The story gets off to a fairly quick start and never really lets up. But, on the other hand, due to the fast pace of the plotting, I never felt like we really settled into any of these character, either our main character or the side cast. Mirae had a potentially interesting arc where she is forced to confront that her unwillingness to compromise can be both a strength, but also a weakness. But I don’t think the story every really settled enough for her to really express any of this growth. Instead, the reader is left to just bounce along and understand that inner reflection is happening.

There was also no romance in this story. I personally prefer to have a romantic plotline in my story (though I have to say, I’ve now read three other books back to back where the romance ended in some form of tragedy, and I’m SUPER over this tendency to need to make these stories bittersweet or grimdark to somehow justify them as “serious fantasy.” Ok, rant over.), but there have been plenty of stories I’ve really enjoyed without a hint of romance to be found. Just recently, I rated “Witch King” a 10 and there’s zero romance in that book. But here it was confusing because fairly early on the author seems to be setting up a romantic plotline. And then…it just goes nowhere. It kind of felt like a bait and switch and left me more frustrated than had there been nothing even hinted at.

I also really liked the idea of the time-switching, but I don’t feel like it was really used to the extent that it was hyped. The world-building also felt a bit all over the place, and the motivations, both for why these countries were at war, and why individual characters choose to do certain things, were lacking. I am curious to see if there is a second book planned and whether that would clarify some of this. Particularly, the strange non-love/love interest. Like, is this something that is going to be followed up on later? Overall, this was a bit hit and miss for me as a read. Like I said, I think there is a lot of potential here, and I do think that some fantasy readers will enjoy it. But it’s not as tightly knit or carefully constructed as I would prefer.

Rating 7: Lots of potential that did feel a bit squandered by a lack of attention to character and world-building.

Reader’s Advisory:

“And Break the Pretty Kings” isn’t on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Asian Mythology, Legends, and Folklore .

Serena’s Review: “The Grimoire of Grave Fates”

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Book: “The Grimoire of Grave Fates” by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, June 2023

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

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

Book Description: Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect.

A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome–but there are some who aren’t so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone’s least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor’s body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy’s students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone’s a suspect.

Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo’s best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort’s mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo’s halls. But they’re about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn’t always play by the rules. . . .

Review: I was definitely intrigued when I heard about this upcoming fantasy anthology. Not only was it a collaboration between a huge number of famous authors, but the idea of a murder mystery taking place in a school of magic as the foundation upon which the anthology is built upon is compelling as heck. Add an eye-popping cover, and you’ve got me! This is definitely a change of pace from the types of fantasy stories that I typically read, so I was very excited and curious to see what it had to offer.

I’m going to skip over my usual summary paragraph here, as I think the description given by the publisher is more than enough, and it’s hard to add more with anthologies that are, by their nature, built upon many layers of different characters, themes, and stories. So let’s get right to the review! First of all, I’d like to state how impressive of a project I think this book is. Collaborations are always tricky, but I have to imagine the more authors you include, the harder it is to ensure that the finished product feels complete and even. This is all the more difficult when you’re writing a murder mystery, a specific genre that requires careful plotting, close regulation of what information is made known and when, and a neat balance of pace to keep the reader engaged while not also losing them as the book builds to its final conclusion. But I think, overall, this aspect of the book came together very well, and none of the individual stories stood out as ill-fitting with the larger story as a whole.

That said, I didn’t wholly love this read. On one hand, this is purely a subjective opinion as I’m not a huge fan of anthology stories, in general. I have a long record here on the blog of my struggles with a book rising at the exact rate at which an author adds POV characters. The more you have, the more I’m going to have a difficult time connecting to the story. Obviously, that is unavoidable here. I did like several of the individual chapters, but this then lead me to become increasingly frustrated as, again and again, I lost these characters just when I was beginning to become invested in them. And even in multi-POV stories, there’s always the anticipation of returning to a beloved character, which isn’t the case here. I also liked the level of diversity that is included, but there were also moments where it began to feel a bit like “diversity Bingo” and less like a natural and organic collection of individuals.

I did like the magical elements we had in the story as well. There were a few particular characters who had very unique ways of practicing their magic that I was especially interested in. But, again, I was always left wanting just a bit more. And, while every chapter did move the murder mystery along, bit by bit, the overall experience did begin to feel a bit tedious. However, as I said, I struggle with this approach to story-telling in general, so this could definitely be more of “me” problem than an actual problem with the book itself. On top of that, the writing style did err towards the younger side of YA; again something that is really subjective to the preferences of the reader. If you’re a fan of anthologies or love any of the authors involved in this project, this is likely a book you’ll enjoy. If you tend to enjoy adult fantasy more, this might not work quite as well.

Rating 7: A cool concept and an impressive feat of collaboration, but the large cast of characters and the slow pace of the larger mystery itself left me struggling to fully connect to the book.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Grimoire of Grave Fates” can be found on this Goodreads lists: YA Releases June 2023

Serena’s Review: “The Thorns Remain”

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Book: “The Thorns Remain” by J.J.A. Harwood

Publishing Info: Magpie, May 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: A dance with the fae will change everything

1919. In a highland village forgotten by the world, harvest season is over and the young who remain after war and flu have ravaged the village will soon head south to make something of themselves.

Moira Jean and her friends head to the forest for a last night of laughter before parting ways. Moira Jean is being left behind. She had plans to leave once – but her lover died in France and with him, her future. The friends light a fire, sing and dance. But with every twirl about the flames, strange new dancers thread between them, music streaming from the trees.

The fae are here.

Suddenly Moira Jean finds herself all alone, her friends spirited away. The iron medal of her lost love, pinned to her dress, protected her from magic.

For the Fae feel forgotten too. Lead by the darkly handsome Lord of the Fae, they are out to make themselves known once more. Moira Jean must enter into a bargain with the Lord to save her friends – and fast, for the longer one spends with the Fae, the less like themselves they are upon return. If Moira Jean cannot save her friends before Beltine, they will be lost forever…

Completely bewitching, threaded with Highland charm and sparkling with dark romance, this is a fairytale that will carry you away.

Review: Here’s another example of cover lust! But I was also drawn in by the fact that I’ve been on a bit of a good run with Fae/Faerie books in the last few months. I gave high ratings to both “The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill”  and “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries”. I was also particularly intrigued by the description of this one and its inclusion of dancing with the Fae. It’s a pretty well-established piece of fairy lore (I’ve always loved the “Seven Dancing Sisters” fairytale especially!) and it can swing either romantic or highly dangerous. With hints at powerfully dark Fae and bargains, I have to guess this one might swing towards the latter. Either way, count me in!

Moira Jean and her friends have always know there was future was to depart their small village and make lives for themselves out in the greater world. As young women, this departure and future would largely be tied to their marriages. But when Moira Jean’s beloved dies in the war, her world is rocked and her future torn to shreds. When her friends go out into the forest to dance and celebrate one last time before they leave home, Moira Jean joins them. There, they are joined in their dancing by the wild and dangerous Fae and one by one, Moira Jean’s friends are stolen away. Now it up to her to rescue them, entering into dangerous bargains with Lord of the Fae who is as mysterious as he is beguiling.

So this book both was and wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s always interesting to see the balance that different authors take with their Fae, some leaning towards the more human and romantic versions, while others delve deeper into the cruelty and danger the Fae represent. This book neatly presents both options, and I think this was probably the biggest strength of the book. There is a romantic plotline, but we are never allowed to forget that the Lord of the Fae is distinctly not human. Furthermore, many aspects of the relationship that Moira Jean develops with him is comprised of supremely unhealthy dynamics, and much of the story is Moira Jean confronting these realities. This is also tied into Moira Jean’s overall arch, one that sees her struggling to define herself and her life outside of the rather co-dependent relationships she has traditionally relied upon.

That said, I struggled with the end of this book. On one hand, I liked the resolution to the romance and how that was handled. But there were many questions left unanswered about just how these actions worked within the larger Fae world and rules that we had been presented with. Further, the manner in which Moira Jean escapes her situation undercut her agency. I wish she had been more actively involved in solving her problems, and I think this would have been the button that was missing on her character arc. The pacing was also a bit all over the place. The ending, especially, felt rushed and thus a bit anti-climatic.

As a character, Moira Jean was enjoyable when she was spunky and active. But there were also times that she read as very annoying and those were the times that it became hard to understand what a powerful Fae lord would see in her. Kind of like the pacing and the world-building, there was such a mix of good and bad elements that I was often left feeling off-kilter and struggling to connect to the story. I think there were a lot of good ideas here, it just didn’t feel like everything came together the way one would want. If you’re a big fan of Fae stories that focus on the darker element of these magical beings, than this book is probably worth checking out. But I do think there are more complete versions of a similar story to be found.

Rating 7: A bit of a frustrating read as I really enjoyed it at times and then, conversely, struggled at others.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Thorns Remain” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Books like Hozier songs and Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2023