Serena’s Review: “The Liar’s Knot”

Book: “The Liar’s Knot” by M. A. Carrick

Publishing Info: Little, Brown Book Group, December 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher

Book Description: In Nadezra, peace is as tenuous as a single thread. The ruthless House Indestor has been destroyed, but darkness still weaves through the city’s filthy back alleys and jewel-bright gardens, seen by those who know where to look.

Derossi Vargo has always known. He has sacrificed more than anyone imagines to carve himself a position of power among the nobility, hiding a will of steel behind a velvet smile. He’ll be damned if he lets anyone threaten what he’s built.

Grey Serrado knows all too well. Bent under the yoke of too many burdens, he fights to protect the city’s most vulnerable. Sooner or later, that fight will demand more than he can give.

And Ren, daughter of no clan, knows best of all. Caught in a knot of lies, torn between her heritage and her aristocratic masquerade, she relies on her gift for reading pattern to survive. And it shows her the web of corruption that traps her city.

But all three have yet to discover just how far that web stretches. And in the end, it will take more than knives to cut themselves free…

Previously Reviewed: “The Mask of Mirrors”

Review: I really enjoyed the first book in this series. It was a fairly massive undertaking: a long book with multiple POV characters and a lot of world-building that needed to be done to set the scene. That said, I felt like the book was fast-going and I was excited to pick up this one, the second in the series. And while this one was a bit slower than the first, I still found myself enjoying it quite a lot.

Lies and secrets crisscross and tangle in Nadezra. And with so many spiders spinning their own webs, knots are sure to form when one too many plots intersect with another. Derossi, Grey, and Ren know all too well the struggle that comes with trying to push forward one’s own agenda when to do so means running across a million others with their own plots and plans. And while steps have been made, each feels their own particular knots begin to slip further and further from their grasp. What truths are out there to be discovered? And will these exposures save or destroy them?

While you definitely got hints of the type of story this series is setting out to be, it really feels like it comes into its own here in the second: world-building, world-building, world-building! The first book had a decent amount of plot action at the heart of the story, what with introducing our main trio of characters and also Ren’s ongoing con. We also were waiting to learn the true identity of the Rook. With both of those plotlines played out, this book was much, much lighter on the action and pacing. This could be a struggle for some readers who want to see a faster moving story, but for those who really like to explore and sink into the details of a unique world and society of people, this is definitely the series for you! I loved all of the intricacies we got to see of the city itself and of the inner workings of the secret societies that exist within it (all, of course, with their own plots and purposes).

I still really liked our three main characters. I will admit, I did start to become frustrated when they began to fall into the traps where as a reader you’re just yelling at them to talk to each other a bit and they’d finally understand what was actually going on! But, of course, that would leak out a lot of the tension of the story early on. I was pleased that the author didn’t push this trope past the point of believability, and our characters would catch on to things here and there when they would have had to be supremely obtuse to continue in ignorance. Sadly, I’ve seen stories play out that way before all too often, so it was a relief to see the author

I really enjoyed this book. With its slower pacing and focus on world-building and the smaller, personal stories of our main characters, it may not be for everyone out there, especially not the more plot-focused readers. But I love this type of immersive fantasy story, and I definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy the same!

Rating 8: A slower story firmly rooted in its dedication to building out an intricate world and filling it with complicated, well-rounded characters.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Liar’s Knot” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on “Books with Secret Identities.”

Find “The Liar’s Knot” at your library using WorldCat or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Kate’s Review: “The Girl from the Sea”

Book: “The Girl from the Sea” by Molly Knox Ostertag

Publishing Info: Graphix, June 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

Book Description: From the author of The Witch Boy trilogy comes a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love.

Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.

Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn’t seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they’re each trying to hide will find its way to the surface…whether Morgan is ready or not.

Review: It has been a long time, like a LONG time, since I’ve watched “Splash”, a romantic comedy about an uptight land dweller (Tom Hanks) and a whimsical mermaid (Daryl Hannah), but it was the first thing that came to mind when I read the description for “The Girl from the Sea” by Molly Knox Ostertag. An isolated or lonely person on land finds love with a gentle and kind sea creature? I mean, that’s a trope that is timeless in and of itself. But to make things a little more unique, Ostertag went a bit more in the direction of “The Secret of Roan Inish”, as instead of the tired mermaid being used, we instead are given a story with a selkie, a mystical creature that can take on seal form as well as human form.

“The Girl from the Sea” is a gentle fantasy story, one that charmed me almost immediately and kept a smile on my face as I read. I felt that Ostertag did a really good job of portraying the turmoil within Morgan, and how her relationship with Keltie, a human disguised selkie, helped her open up and accept herself. Keltie is as simplistic and genuine as you would expect her to be, but I thought that Morgan has a lot of nuance and complexity in which she does have her reasons to not come out to her loved ones, but some of it may very well be a bit of projection on her part. Having her encounter with Keltie and be drawn to her, and perhaps start to fall in love with her, is a nice dynamic, as Keltie is incredibly free in herself, while Morgan is not. I also thought that Ostertag was good about showing how complicated coming out can be for a person, even when her friends and family are, for the most part, loving and supportive. Morgan is not only dealing with her own identity and how to express it, but she is also dealing with a recently split up family dynamic, and how that pain is affecting her and her mother and brother. The undercurrent of that trauma is always present, either through Morgan’s insecurities, or through implied anger and aggression issues her brother has been displaying. Morgan has a lot on her plate, and she compartmentalizes in a fairly realistic way.

And on the flip side, there is Keltie. She is a selkie, and while she is free in some ways, there are constraints that could very easily be applied to her life that Morgan could never understand. I thought it was neat that Ostertag took the mythology of the selkie and incorporated it into this story in the way she did. It brings in themes of identity and transformation, but it also makes other themes like environmentalism and conservation relevant to the story at hand. Keltie isn’t as interesting and Morgan, but then, that kind of makes sense, since she is a fantasy creature and therefore has a lot of fantastical elements. She also balances out Morgan, and makes their romance feel all the more sweet.

I really like the artwork. I’ve read other stories by Ostertag, and while I wasn’t as into those tales as I was this one, I have always appreciated her style and aesthetic, and that translates to this story pretty handily.

(source)

“The Girl from the Sea” is a lovely romance about finding the person who accepts you for who you are, realizing they may not be the only ones, and finding out how to accept yourself. It’s gentle and sweet and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes a love story with fantasy flair.

Rating 8: A sweet and emotional love story with themes of transformation and being true to yourself.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Girl from the Sea” is included on the Goodreads lists “YA Pride Graphic Novels”, and “Gay Pirates and Sea Creatures”.

Find “The Girl from the Sea” at your library using WorldCat, or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Serena’s Review: “Silence in the Library”

Book: “Silence in the Library” by Katharine Schellman

Publishing Info: Crooked Lane Books, July 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: audiobook from the library

Book Description: Regency widow Lily Adler has finally settled into her new London life when her semi-estranged father arrives unexpectedly, intending to stay with her while he recovers from an illness. Hounded by his disapproval, Lily is drawn into spending time with Lady Wyatt, the new wife of an old family friend. Lily barely knows Lady Wyatt. But she and her husband, Sir Charles, seem as happy as any newly married couple until the morning Lily arrives to find the house in an uproar and Sir Charles dead.

All signs indicate that he tripped and struck his head late at night. But when Bow Street constable Simon Page is called to the scene, he suspects foul play. And it isn’t long before Lily stumbles on evidence that Sir Charles was, indeed, murdered.

Mr. Page was there when Lily caught her first murderer, and he trusts her insight into the world of London’s upper class. With the help of Captain Jack Hartley, they piece together the reasons that Sir Charles’s family might have wanted him dead. But anyone who might have profited from the old man’s death seems to have an alibi… until Lily receives a mysterious summons to speak with one of the Wyatts’ maids, only to find the young woman dead when she arrives.

Mr. Page believes the surviving family members are hiding the key to the death of both Sir Charles and the maid. To uncover the truth, Lily must convince the father who doesn’t trust or respect her to help catch his friend’s killer before anyone else in the Wyatt household dies.

Previously Reviewed: “The Body in the Garden”

Review: Somehow I missed this coming out way back in July! This just goes to show how out of control my TBR list is, since I had been eagerly awaiting a new installment in this series almost since the moment that I finished the last page of the first book. “The Body in the Garden” was such a supreme pleasure to read and a great discovery that my expectations were quite high for this next book. Luckily, those expectations were met in every way!

Fairly recently I found myself complaining about the lack of information given in a book description, but here we have the opposite case! This intro spoils events that don’t happen until almost halfway through the book! I couldn’t believe it (though, luckily, I didn’t read this description until after reading the book, so I wasn’t actually spoiled, but only through sheer laziness on my part). Given how much information (for better or worse) is laid out in the official book description, I won’t waste anyone’s time re-reading my attempts at a summary here.

I was so excited when I saw that this book was out already and that my library had a readily available audiobook copy! I had read the first book as an ebook, but I really enjoyed the story through this medium and the narrator was excellent.

The mystery was another great one. I had a few theories early on, but only one of those turned out to be right, with many more surprises and reveals along the way. It was a clever murder with only a small cast of characters up for suspicion, all of whom had both motives for conducting the murder as well as strong evidence pointing towards their innocence. I also really enjoyed the way the mystery was wrapped up, with cleverness behind both putting the clues together and catching the murderer themselves.

We had two angles on the mystery, as well. One, of course, was our heroine Lily Adler. Alongside her burgeoning mystery-solving career, here, we see her begin to further emerge from her shell of mourning. Rightly, a number of potential love interests and suitors begin to circle, and I enjoyed the exploration of the complicated feelings this new return to non-mourning brought to Lily. Overall, the series has been such an excellent examination of grief and the long journey the loved ones left behind must travel. We also see more adventures from Lily with her taking things into her own hands and putting herself in situations that are unusual for a woman of her station and life. At the same time, all of these choices were still restrained enough to be believable, with the author neatly side-stepping the too-often anachronistic “strong woman” tropes that can pop up when trying to write this sort of character.

We also got to see a few chapters from the perspective of Simon Page, the constable in charge of solving the murder. It was lovely to see him much more respectful and appreciate of Lily, and I really enjoyed seeing his unique take on the murder, as well as the detective work that only he could complete. He was rather unlikable in the first book, but I really enjoyed what we got from him here.

We also had a return of several familiar faces, as well as an introduction of new characters. Lily’s father was all the villain the summary makes him out to be. If anything, he was much, much worse than the typical “disapproving parental figure” that one sees in these stories. I also liked the addition of a young boy who was growing up with autism (or something like this, obviously it was unnamed at the time.) With additions like this, the series continues to do its excellent work at highlighting how you can write a historical novel while also including a diverse cast of characters. It’s very well done.

This was another stand-out mystery novel, and this next go around, I WILL NOT miss the publication date of the next story. Fans of the first book and fans of general historical fiction mysteries are sure to enjoy it.

Rating 9: Excellent all around, a great mystery paired with a diverse cast of characters.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Silence in the Library” is on these Goodreads lists: Cozy Mystery/Romance/History and Books with Library in the Title.

Find “Silence in the Library” at your library using WorldCat or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Kate’s Review: “A History of Wild Places”

Book: “A History of Wild Places” by Shea Ernshaw

Publishing Info: Atria Books, December 2021

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

Book Description: Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend.

Called Pastoral, this reclusive community was founded in the 1970s by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn’t exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it… he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James.

Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis’s abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there’s a risk of bringing a disease—rot—into Pastoral. Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove their perfect, isolated world isn’t as safe as they believed—and that darkness takes many forms.

Hauntingly beautiful, hypnotic, and bewitching, A History of Wild Places is a story about fairy tales, our fear of the dark, and losing yourself within the wilderness of your mind.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel!

I read the book “The Wicked Deep” by Shea Ernshaw, and while I thought that a story of three witch sisters who were executed and now have a curse upon the town that wronged them would be my jam, I didn’t really care for it. I didn’t really think about it again, but when I saw the description for “A History of Dark Places”, her adult fiction debut, I was incredibly intrigued by the premise of missing people and a possible forest cult. And boy am I glad I picked this up, because this? This WAS my jam!

“A History of Wild Places” pulled the wool over my eyes and totally tricked me. And I went into it sniffing out the twist and the surprises, which I know probably isn’t the BEST way to go into a novel with twists, but hey, it still managed to take me by surprise. So kudos! Ernshaw balances an elephant in the room mystery with another, incredibly intense mystery, and manages to interconnect them in ways that felt satisfying and that pay off. The first mystery is what happened to missing novelist Maggie St. Clair, as well as the man looking for her Travis Wren. The second mystery has to do with the town that St. Clair and Wren found themselves within, an isolated wilderness commune called Pastoral, as some years after their disappearances, the villagers are cut off from the world due to a plague… or is it? In that storyline we follow the perspectives of married couple Theo and Calla, and Calla’s blind sister Bee, who is in love with Levi, the leader of Pastoral. The comparisons to “The Village” are well earned on many levels, but I felt like this book did a good job of actually pulling off what “The Village” was trying to do. I mean, I knew that something was off, and as Theo, Calla, and Bee all got closer and closer to the secrets of Pastoral, the secrets of evidence of Maggie’s and Travis’s presence, and the secrets that they keep from each other as well, the intensity goes higher and higher until it’s completely through the roof. I found myself charging through a good chunk of the book in one sitting because I needed to know what was going to happen, and if my predictions were right. Side note: they rarely were. Ernshaw pulled almost all of her twists off, and they all felt earned.

I also liked all of the characters. Theo, Calla, and Bee are all well thought out and seeing all of them start to question Pastoral, and start to unlock mysteries and memories, was deeply satisfying. I think that Bee was probably my favorite, as she is intrepid, incredibly caring, and a little bit psychic (a trait that she shares with Travis; this wasn’t really explored as much as it could have been, however, and that’s one of the few qualms I had with this book). As he deeply in love with Pastoral leader Levi, but after Levi makes a decision that supposedly keeps the community safe at the expense of the life of one community member, she starts to question everything about the town, and Levi himself. Ernshaw writes a woman who is devoted to her sister and her community, and whose love for a man is starting to crack apart as she begins to realize that he may not be what he seems to be. It’s a woman who is realizing that she is in a cult, and it’s heartbreaking and a little bit scary, as it becomes clear that she is very possibly in serious danger.

“A History of Wild Places” also has a very dreamy quality to it that makes it feel like a dark fairy tale as much as a bone chilling thriller. We have people who have walked into the woods and seemingly disappeared, we have people with the power of visions and deep empathy, and we have a dark and disturbing wood both in an overlapping narrative of Maggie St. Clair’s “Eloise” books (which we get excerpts from here an there), and in the forest surrounding Pastoral that may contain a deadly disease for those who try and cross its borders. A strange and eerie presence is on the pages of this book, and it worked so well for me that I closed the book and let out a long sigh when I was done. It is such a satisfying tone to go with a creepy cult story with a hint of missing person mystery, and it combines to make something so unique and enjoyable.

“A History of Wild Places” is a great dark fairy tale of a thriller. I’m so glad I decided to try out Ernshaw again, because this one worked SO well for me. It’s a wonderful read for a cold winter’s night.

Rating 9: Strange and dreamy, but unsettling and tense, “A History of Wild Places” is a surprising thriller that kept me guessing.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A History of Wild Places” is included on the Goodreads lists “Cults and Communes in Fiction”, and “2021 Horror Novels Written by Women (Cis and Trans) and Non-Binary Femmes”.

Find “A History of Wild Places” at your library using WorldCat, or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Highlights: December 2021

As of writing this, we still do not have any snow here in good old Minnesota. By mentioning it, however, I’m sure we’ve cursed it to come soon! However, the holiday cheer is all around and we’re both appreciating the extra lights to help lessen the short days and long nights. Good books also help with that, so here is a list of the ones we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks:

Book: “The Liar’s Knot” by M. A. Carrick

Publication Date: December 9, 2021

Why I’m Interested: I really enjoyed last year’s “The Mask of Mirrors.” While there are only three true main characters, each have such a plethora of secret identities that it often felt like much more. Their lives and plots all crisscrossed to the extent that even I had trouble tracking it. Given the title we have for the second book, I’m guessing that all of these secrets may come home to roost for our characters, all of whom are immersed in several layered lies. These are hefty books, full of intrigue and adventure, and I can’t wait to see what awaits me in this latest tome!

Book: “The Excalibur Curse” by Kiersten White

Publication Date: December 7, 2021

Why I’m Interested: I know, I know, I haven’t even read/reviewed the second one in this trilogy! But White has yet to ever let me down, so I still feel confident that I will be eventually finishing off this trilogy with “The Excalibur Curse.” Hopefully sooner rather than later! Honestly, I haven’t even looked at the book description for fear of spoiling myself for book two. That said, there are enough intriguing aspects of this cover alone to have me anxiously placing holds at the library for both the second one and this book. I have a few theories about Guinevere’s past, and this cover featuring her drawing what must be Excalibur itself only have me more curious!

Book: “The Midnight Girls” by Alicia Jasinska

Publication Date: December 28, 2021

Why I’m Interested: “Two girls compete for the heart of a prince.” OUT. “Only to find they may be falling for each other.” Annnnnd I’m back in, baby! Plus, this cover is pretty cool. It’s very “Frozen” but Elsa and Anna aren’t sisters and may be into each other. Plus, dueling sorceresses sounds pretty neat. My December TBR list is looking pretty monstrous at this point, but I hope to get to this one soon!

Kate’s Picks:

Book: “A History of Wild Places” by Shea Ernshaw

Publication Date: December 7, 2021

Why I’m Interested: While the previous Ernshaw book I read didn’t really connect with me, I was immediately interested in her adult fiction debut. I mean, you have a cult, two sisters who are starting to question what is happening in their community, and some missing people! All things I enjoy! When Travis Wren is sent to look for missing author Maggie St. Clair and tracks her to the woods where commune Pastoral resides, he soon disappears into the trees as well. A couple years later, sisters Calla and Bee, and Calla’s husband Theo, start to find evidence of the missing people, as well as the part that community leader Levi may have had to play. But Levi has told the commune that venturing out of the area is dangerous, as a plague has overcome the trees. Or has it? It sounds like it has hints of “The Village” meets some kind of Jonestown creepiness!

Book: “If This Gets Out” by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich

Publication Date: December 7, 2021

Why I’m Interested: 2021 was the year that I gave romance a try in earnest, looking for any way to add some light fluffy elements to a stressful time to be alive. And while romance isn’t going to be covered by me on this blog (though look for some exceptions this month, as a treat!), I was still eager to read “If This Gets Out” when I first heard of it. Contemporary romance is fun, and if that romance involves two guys in a popular boy band? Oh yes! Ruben and Zach are members of the well adored boy band Saturday, though both are feeling the pressure of the facade they have to uphold. Ruben especially is having a hard time, as he is gay, but is being kept in the closet for the band’s image. And when Ruben and Zach start to realize that their friendship may be more than just friendship, it gets all the more complicated. As someone who loved NKOTB when she was in kindergarten and the Backstreet Boys in middle school, this premise tickles me.

Book: “The Coldest Touch” by Isabel Sterling

Publication Date: December 7, 2021

Why I’m Interested: Okay, take a look at Serena’s description of “The Midnight Girls”, because it’s basically the same kind of deal here. When you say vampire romance, I will almost certainly say HARD PASS these days. But if you take that vampire romance and make it between two ladies, and neither of them are helpless nor broody? Oh that changes EVERYTHING! Elise is a girl who can see the future deaths of anyone she touches, and when she couldn’t save her brother she was desperate to be rid of her gift. But then she meets Claire, a vampire who has been assigned by other paranormal folks to help her harness her powers as a Death Oracle. As they work together to hone Elise’s powers, and perhaps to prevent the upcoming murder of one of Elise’s teachers, they start to grow closer, no matter how dangerous it could be. I MEAN, this is the kind of vampire romance I can get behind.

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

Monthly Marillier: “Raven Flight”

“Monthly Marillier” is a review series that is, essentially, an excuse for me to go back and re-read one of my favorite author’s back catalog. Ever since I first discovered her work over fifteen years ago, Juliet Marillier has been one of my favorite authors. Her stories are the perfect mixture of so many things I love: strong heroines, beautiful romances, fairytale-like magic, and whimsical writing. Even better, Marillier is a prolific author and has regularly put out new books almost once a year since I began following her. I own almost all of them, and most of those I’ve read several times. Tor began re-releasing her original Sevenwaters trilogy, so that’s all the excuse I needed to begin a new series in which I indulge myself in a massive re-read of her books. I’ll be posting a new entry in this series on the first Friday of every month.

Book: “Raven Flight” by Juliet Marillier

Publishing Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers, July 2013

Where Did I Get this Book: own it

Book Description: Neryn has finally found the rebel group at Shadowfell, and now her task is to seek out the elusive Guardians, vital to her training as a Caller. These four powerful beings have been increasingly at odds with human kind, and Neryn must prove her worth to them. She desperately needs their help to use her gift without compromising herself or the cause of overthrowing the evil King Keldec.

Neryn must journey with the tough and steadfast Tali, who looks on Neryn’s love for the double agent Flint as a needless vulnerability. And perhaps it is. What Flint learns from the king will change the battlefield entirely—but in whose favor, no one knows. 

Previously Review: “Shadowfell”

Review: Back when I read this for the first time, I remember being a bit hesitant going into the second book in Marillier’s YA “Shadowfell” trilogy. I had enjoyed the first one for the most part, but there were a few flags (particularly with the romance and some of the heroine’s decision making) that made me nervous to see how this story would continue to unfold over the entire two books left to complete Neryn’s story. Luckily, this book was the breath of fresh air the trilogy needed and went to prove that sometimes the second book is not only NOT the worst in a trilogy but can even help lift the series up beyond its own lackluster start.

Shortly after arriving at Shadowfell, Neryn realizes that it is her destiny to travel beyond its confines in an effort to prove herself capable of wielding the land’s powerful magical forces. To do so, she must convince four magical guardians who have always looked down with much judgement on the foolishness of humans. Travelling alongside her is her companion and warrior friend, Tali. Together, the two must travel to the furthest realms of north, south, east and west in hopes to gain these powerful beings’ blessing and lessons. But will Neryn be strong enough to convince them? And will they, like Tali, see Neryn’s beloved, Flint, as a weakness in her quest to overthrow Keldec?

There were a few things that stood out in my re-read that pointed to why I enjoyed this book so much more than the first. First off, I think the replacement of Flint with Tali as Neryn’s travelling companion works better on many levels. The romance in this trilogy as a whole is probably one of my least favorites of all of Marillier’s many excellent romantic pairings, so frankly, less Flint/Neryn interactions were a win for me. These two need to get their act together, and while they are both better here than in the first book, I still found myself often annoyed with their dramatics.

Tali, on the other hand, instead of highlighting some of Neryn’s more nonsensical moments, spoke the harsh truths that had been missing and had left me eye-rolling my way through the first book. Neryn is still often rather weak-willed and self-focused, all too willing to hesitate and dither over using her powers, more concerned with potentially moral grey areas than with saving the real people before her (or the larger rebel cause as a whole.) Gruff, tough, Tali has no patience for this type of dithering and often lectures Neryn on how Neryn’s Caller abilities are all that give the rebellion a hope of winning and that Neryn will need to harden herself to the fact that people die in wars. Tali was probably my favorite addition to the story. Not only did she say what I was thinking so much of the time, but I always like this type of rough-and-ready character who takes a while to warm up to both the reader and the other characters that surround her.

I also enjoyed the format of this story more than the first. While I like a good journey book as much as the next LOTR fan, “Shadowfell” too often stumbled in its pacing in this area to be successful. “Raven Flight” calls on another favorite fantasy trope: magical tasks. Always love these, and Marillier does an excellent job here. The Guardians we meet are all unique and intriguing, and the challenges they set for Neryn are appropriately grueling. There is one, in particular, that seems to almost break Neryn, and Marillier’s talent as a writer quite deftly portrays the dire straights that Neryn finds herself in.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this second book. It’s quite good on its own, and, honestly, the improvement over the first works to lift it even further in my estimation. I think many fans of Maillier’s work breathed a sigh of relief when this book came out, again reassured that she had not lost her touch.

Rating 8: The de-emphasis on the romance and the addition of the warrior woman Tali greatly increased my enjoyment of this second outing in the “Shadowfell” trilogy.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Raven Flight” is on these Goodreads lists: Best Fantasy Books Under the Radar and Fairy Tale Fantasy with a Touch of Romance.

Find “Raven Flight” at your library using WorldCat or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Kate’s Review: “Locke & Key (Vol. 3): Crown of Shadows”

Book: “Locke & Key (Vol. 3): Crown of Shadows” by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez (Ill.)

Publishing Info: IDW Publishing, July 2010

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Book Description: The dead plot against the living, the darkness closes in on Keyhouse, and a woman is shattered beyond repair, in the third storyline of the Eisner-nominated series, Locke & Key! Dodge continues his relentless quest to find the key to the black door, and raises an army of shadows to wipe out anyone who might get in his way. Surrounded and outnumbered, the Locke children find themselves fighting a desperate battle, all alone, in a world where the night itself has become their enemy.

Review: I continue to find myself becoming completely immersed in this re-read of “Locke & Key”, Joe Hill’s fantastic dark fantasy horror series. I think that it had been long enough since I read it that I had forgotten some things that have been nice surprises, which is good. But even the things that I have stark memory of are still hitting me where it hurts. I didn’t remember that it’s a slow build up of actual plot progression in favor of character development, and that is made pretty clear in “Crown of Shadows”.

Dodge is making some moves in this book when it comes to trying to get the keys, though it wasn’t as much as I thought it would be. His first big plot point is dealing with the angry ghost of Sam, who is still trapped in Key House and is PRETTY pissed that Dodge manipulated him. The other is his continued quest for the keys. We are about halfway through the series at the end of this, and while Dodge does have some moments of significance here (outside of Sam’s ire), Hill is still taking his time. The biggest development is a Shadow attack on Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode, in which Dodge uses literal shadow creatures to try and find the keys and take out anything, i.e. the Locke Kids, that stand in the way of that. It’s the first significant battle between Dodge and the kids, with Tyler at the helm for the most part, and I was once again enthralled with the directions Hill took this, even though I’d read it before. It’s a BIG battle, but we still don’t really know what Dodge’s end plan is, and why he wants all these keys. Again, I know that we get there, and I know that Hill is biding his time, but it just surprised me that we still haven’t gotten clarification on that, NOR have we found out much more about where Rendell fits into all of this outside of a couple sinister clues. It’s a slow burn. Hill is good at that, but I just wanted a little more clarity right now as I think it’s going to get a bit hectic, if I remember correctly.

But it’s the subplots involving Nina and Kinsey that really stuck chords with me as I re-read “Crown of Shadows”. When I initially read it, I don’t think that Nina’s plight caught my attention as much as it should have, as when I read it this time I was just shattered for her and where she is. She’s still drowning in the trauma that she has endured due to the brutal murder of her husband, as well as the violent rape committed against her during the home invasion, and now that Duncan is off dealing with Brian’s injury she is adrift with her three children, and her dependence on alcohol is far more obvious to them now. Her agony is compounded by the horrible guilt she feels as a mother who can’t give her children the love and support and protection that they need, and that sends her into an even deeper spiral, which leads to more drinking, and it just keeps cycling. Hill always covers this with empathy and care, and it never felt exploitative to me. He just knows how to tell it the right way. But then we get an interesting development involving her daughter Kinsey. When we left Kinsey in the last volume, she had used the Head Key to remove her sense of fear. We now see that playing out in two ways in “Crown of Shadows”. The first is the obvious way: she isn’t fearful of risky or dangerous situations anymore. In this volume Kinsey finds herself in a couple of dangerous situations. The first is the aforementioned shadow attack at the house, in which she is cool as a cucumber and completely unphased, while the second is when she and her new friends get trapped in a cave with rising water. While the other teens are understandably freaking out, Kinsey is casually trying to figure out a solution. She’s also a bit more adventuresome in her interactions with others, no longer insecure about being around other people. But the less obvious path Hill takes her upon has everything to do with Nina and Nina’s emotional spiral: Kinsey has absolutely no problem telling her mother what a fuck up she thinks she is, completely comfortable to unload on her whenever Nina has a bad moment. Hill ties the idea of empathy to fear, at least it seems that way to me, and that is SUCH a fascinating theme to lay out with these two women, with one who is consumed by it and one who has excised it, and how bad both scenarios are.

“Locke and Key (Vol. 3): Crown of Thorns” may have given Dodge just a little more ground in his quest to get the keys, but the lack of key movement gave the Lockes, especially the women, more time to shine. Things have to be looking up for the Lockes soon, right? I mean, I think I remember the answer to that question, but we’ll see when I go on to “Keys to the Kingdom”!

Rating 8: We get some slow plot progression and some dark but well done character development, and “Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows” continues the moving tale of the Locke Family, and those who are after them.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Locke & Key (Vol. 3): Crown of Shadows” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Coming of Age Horror Novels”, and “Graphic Novels That Are Quality”.

Find “Locke & Key (V0l. 3): Crown of Shadows” at your library using WorldCat, or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Previously Reviewed:

Serena’s Review: “Another Beast’s Skin”

Book: “Another Beast’s Skin” by Jessika Grewe Glover

Publishing Info: GenZ Publishing, November 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley

Book Description: When Neysa, a market trader from Los Angeles, rents a cottage on the coast of England, she would never have imagined the secrets she would uncover and a new world beyond this one.

In befriending a family in town, Neysa learns that they are emissaries from a fae realm, charged with keeping guard of the volatile Veil between realms. And the four crystals that kept the Veil secure have gone missing.

In a race to protect the realms, Neysa must learn about the new world she’s been thrust into and uncover the secrets in her blood. Luckily fae guardian Caderyn and his cousin are willing to help Neysa in her quest. But even if they can get the crystals back, there may be great consequences for the future of the fae realm.

Review: I requested this book a while ago from NetGalley, mostly because of the beautiful cover and the promise of a good Fae story. I’ve had a hard time finding one that I really enjoy for quite a while now. Frankly, I’m having a hard time thinking of one I’ve enjoyed more recently than “An Enchantment of Ravens” which I read several years ago now. Alas, this was not to be the one to break that streak.

When Neysa quits her home of Los Angles to spend time in a remote section of England she does it only with the mind to clear her mind and heal her heart after her recent divorce. Quickly, she befriends a local family. But as she grows to know them better, she uncovers mysteries beyond her wildest dreams. Soon enough, she’s drawn into a brewing conflict between two worlds and begins uncovering an untold history of her own past. And while the danger escalates, Neysa begins to realize that her injured heart may be ready to love again.

I knew almost immediately that this book wasn’t going to be it for me. It’s always such a disappointment when this happens. A slow start or an uninteresting leading character can grow and change as a story develops, so while disheartening to start with, I don’t necessarily count the book out with just that. Alas, stilted, poor writing is almost never to be recovered from and this book had it in spades right from the start.

There was an abundance of a “telling” style of writing, with readers bluntly informed how they were meant to feel about certain characters and their relationships. Scenes would jump from one place/time/plot to another with absolutely no transition. Very little attention was given to describing the setting or atmosphere of any particular scene. And the magic system was a garbled mess. At one point, a character sprouts wings and this is never commented on further. Can all Fae do this? How does this even work in what before this point had seemed a fully human body? Obviously, as a reader of fantasy fiction, I’m happy enough to bend the laws of physics, but I do need a bit more effort done to make it feel as if the author hadn’t simply plopped down bullet points of fairies she found from Google.

The pacing was also very off-putting, seeming to crawl at certain points and then jump immediately into the action at others. There is no time devoted to carefully cultivating the relationships between the characters, and the romance suffered most from this. There is a love triangle (sigh) and most frustrating of all, the author resorted to creating situations where her heroine is sexually harassed as a way to create drama and force “romantic gestures” from said love interests. I absolutely hate this tactic, and if I hadn’t been already feeling pretty poorly about the book before, this would have been the final straw.

This book ultimately seemed as if it were in sad need of editing. I don’t like comparing books to fanfiction because I’ve read so many excellent fanfiction stories that have writing as good as if not better *side eyes this book* than actual published works. But that was the comparison that came to mind: lack of effort in world-building, juvenile tactics to build romantic drama, and clunky writing. I always hate writing reviews that are as harsh as this one has been, but I truly did not enjoy this book and was so, so disappointed, especially by the romance.

For those who do enjoy love triangles and Fae stories, this may, may, be something that interests you. But I do think there are better examples out there. Even books like “The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black that I didn’t personally enjoy would be better. At least that one was well written.

Rating 5: A big let down, worst of all falling into terrible tropes of using sexual harassment as a romance-building tool.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Another Beast’s Skin” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Everything Fae.

Kate’s Review: “You’ll Be the Death of Me”

Book: “You’ll Be the Death of Me” by Karen M. McManus

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, November 2021

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

Book Description: Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day.

Type A Ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. Heartthrob Mateo is burned out–he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up…. again.

So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say…Until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school–and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse.It turns out Ivy, Mateo, and Cal still have some things in common. They all have a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.

Now they’re all wondering–could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

It’s almost guaranteed by now that whenever Karen M. McManus releases a new book, I’m going to have a helluva fun time reading it. So when I saw that “You’ll Be the Death of Me” was coming out at the end of 2021, I was absolutely hyped. And I am so happy to say that this one MIGHT be my favorite of hers yet. Which is high praise, since I enjoyed all of her previous books. And it’s kind of funny that it’s my favorite, because it has a lot of winks to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, a movie that I don’t particularly enjoy outside of Cameron and Jeanie. But that said, one of our main characters is basically a Jeanie, so maybe it’s not surprising after all.

Look, if you don’t like Jeanie Bueller, I don’t have time for you. (source)

“You’ll Be The Death of Me” centers on three former friends. The first is Ivy, a high strung Type A overachiever who tries to be the best at everything because she feels her brother is favored over her due to his intelligence. There’s Mateo, a quiet kid who lives with his cousin and his newly out of work mother, who is dealing with a medical condition that is prohibitively expensive in its treatment. And there’s Cal, a wise ass loner who is pining after someone he shouldn’t be. When they spontaneously decide to ditch out of school one day, they stumble upon the dead body of a classmate. On top of that, they all have a connection to the crime, and they all have dark secrets. The question isn’t so much if any of them did it, as we know they didn’t. The question is who did, and what secrets ARE they hiding that could be related. We alternate between first person perspectives of all the characters, and we get into their personalities as well as the complications of their former friendship that kind of fizzled out over the years, as friendships sometimes do. I had a true affection for all of them as we got to know them, and I thought that they were all pretty realistic in some of the choices they made and how they reacted to the situation they were in. I especially liked Ivy, as her desperation to be a high achiever and her insecurities were very relatable. It’s a character type we’ve seen a couple of times in McManus’s books, and I thought that Ivy was the most well rounded version of the trope in both her character strengths and weaknesses. And I thought that the way she portrayed all of them together felt very real, especially as we slowly find out the reasons that they stopped hanging out. Let’s just say it’s all very mundane, but in a good, true to life way.

And as for the mystery and the various reveals, be they connected to the murder or not, I was genuinely surprised and stumped for basically the most of the book! There are some really good twists and turns in this book, and when I thought that I had something figured out, or pegged something for a red herring, I was never quite on point. We get the clues interspersed with insight into how the community, specifically the school community, starts to theorize and start rumors about what happened, and how dangerous that kind of thing can be in terms of misinformation. And the mystery is quite complex, with threads reaching out to other characters that I didn’t expect, and going to some pretty dark places, involving the opioid crisis and grooming. And McManus made these themes fit into the overall story pretty well, and handled them in responsible and empathetic ways. And the best part? There is the possibility of a sequel that’s been set up here. If it doesn’t happen, that’s fine, of course. But I would absolutely read to see what happens next.

“You’ll Be the Death of Me” is supremely entertaining and a good mystery. With winter setting in, add this to the reading pile to get through these upcoming, colder months!

Rating 9: Supremely entertaining and a well crafted mystery with likable characters. McManus is still a titan in the YA thriller community!

Reader’s Advisory:

“You’ll Be the Death of Me” is included on the Goodreads list “YA Suspense/Thriller/Mystery”.

Find “You’ll Be the Death of Me” at your library using WorldCat, or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Not Just Books: November 2021

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

Movie: “Dune”

It was a rare day when my husband and I looked at each other and realized we an entire afternoon free from children with nothing planned to do. And so ushered in our grand return to theater going and “Dune” was the perfect film to reinforce the additional experience that is seeing a movie on a huge screen with all of the sound effects and ambiance that comes with that. This movie was gorgeous and the use of the sound effects in the theater were particularly effective. I haven’t read the original book or watched the David Lynch adaptation, so I knew only a few basic facts going in. That said, the movie does an excellent job of setting itself up for new viewers while also not dumbing down any of its story. If you have a safe way of doing so, I definitely recommend checking this one out in a theater if you have the opportunity!

Documentary series: “The Last Dance”

This is a bit of an odd one fore me. While I am a pretty big sports fan, basketball and the NBA have always been way, waaaay down on my list of priorities or interests. That said, as someone who grew up in the 90s, there’s no deny the absolute phenomenon that was Michael Jordan on the culture of my childhood. This is a ten part series, so it’s quite a commitment, but it was well worth the time. I knew most of the bullet points of Jordan’s career and life, but this added so much detail to his life and time in the NBA. It also went well beyond Jordan, diving into the experiences of many of the others involved in the Bulls’ historic run in the 90s. Here, there was a lot I didn’t know which threw a lot of new light on just how remarkable that entire time period was. Fans of sports documentaries, especially, should check this one out, though I think it might also be of interest to many who remember Jordan and the Bulls well.

TV Show: “Australian Survivor”

I’ve been pretty disappointed with the current season of U.S. “Survivor.” While there are interesting characters, the game is too bogged down with random twists and advantages to be much fun to watch. Enter: “Australian Survivor.” There are three seasons available on Paramount+ and man, what a refreshing experience they were! The show is largely the same, but it runs over 50 days instead of 39 (29 this season). This leaves it with a lot more emphasis on camp life and the interactions and strategies of the contestants. There are also a much more reasonable number of twists and turns. On top of that, all three of these seasons had fantastic casts. The last two had winners who I think are probably my favorite two winners of ANY “Survivor” season, so that’s really saying something. I definitely recommend it to fans of the show.

Kate’s Picks

Video Game: “Animal Crossing: New Horizons”

While it is true that I highlighted this game back in March of 2020, when it dropped, I’m coming back to it as a non-book highlight this month. I’ve been playing AC:NH since it came out, though it had been far more casually than it had been in the first few months. And then, Nintendo dropped a significant update at the beginning of November! And boy was there a lot to explore! My character’s island has a bunch of new things to toy with, from a coffee shop, to a new island tour involving a boat captain, to a new shopping and services feature where you can get your fortunes told, to my favorite new thing, FARMING AND COOKING! Yes, you can now grow your own crops, something the game kind of had already with fruit trees and pumpkins, but now it’s added more vegetables as well as recipes you can create with the bounty you grow. And given that November saw the start of explosive COVID growth here in Minnesota, having this escape to help soothe my anxiety has been much appreciated.

TV Show: “CSI: Vegas”

Back in high school my family had the TV shows that we would all sit down as a family and watch, specifically “The X-Files” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. But there were a couple that were uniquely shows that were for me and my Dad to watch together, and one of those was the original “CSI”. He recently told me that they had rebooted the show with new people called “CSI: Vegas”, and when I started it I was immediately a high schooler again, obsessed with this techy (if super unrealistic) procedural involving a crime lab in Las Vegas. As mentioned it’s a new lab team this time around, but we do have extended appearances from Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, two of the original characters who are now married and helping the lab go through some old cases in order to help exonerate the lab from accusations of malfeasance. I love seeing Gil and Sara, but I also like the new team members. Especially Allie Rajan, a CSI who is determined, sweet, and possibly harboring feelings for a colleague. Sounds a lot like Gil and Sara, to be honest. Hope this show sticks around, because I’m loving it.

Podcast: “National Park After Dark”

I talk a lot on here about how I’m not really an outdoors person, but I do have to make exceptions when it comes to the National Park System. I LOVE OUR NATIONAL PARKS! I’ve been to a handful across the country and hope to visit many more. I also love real life mysteries and true crime stories, so “National Park After Dark” is obviously a podcast that I fell in love with. It’s hosted by National Park enthusiasts Cassie and Danielle, and covers stories of survival, tragedy, and the just plain unexplained in our National Parks. From the Yosemite Killer to haunted trails to a plane crash on Mount Rainier/Tahoma, they cover a lot of interesting stories that I am eating up like popcorn. And I’m adding more and more parks to my list of ‘must sees’. Well, they’re ALL must see, but perhaps bumping a few up in terms of priority.