Tag: 6 Rating

Serena’s Review: “Brittle”

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Book: “Brittle” by Beth Overmyer

Publishing Info: Flame Tree Press, August 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley, copy from the publisher

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

Book Description: After the murder of her father – which no one but her believes happened – Verve just wants to hold her family together and take on the role of provider. Unfortunately, a cruel fae lord believes she knows the location of an ancient magical weapon and steals her away to Letorheas, realm of the fairies. The fae lord seems to want something from Verve that goes beyond the weapon, something that many doubt she can provide. Verve must find a way to navigate the strangeness of Letorheas and embrace a destiny more intertwined with the fae than she would like to believe.

Review: This was definitely a “cover lust” situation. I just adore everything about this cover, and it was guaranteed that I would read it the moment I saw it. I’m also still always interested in Fae-focused fantasy novels, for my sins. Have I been burned by this particular trope in the past? Yes, I have. But I also can’t quite get “An Enchantment of Ravens” out of my head, which I read many years ago now, but absolutely adored. And, as I discussed recently about authors who improved on a second go-around, I’m always hoping to stumble upon another unexpected hit! Unfortunately, this was not that.

Right off the bat the story started with some very strong ACOTAR vibes. Now, for some, that is an incredible compliment and surely will draw in certain readers right away. For me, however, red flags were going up in every direction. But before I dive into the parts of the book with which I struggled, I do, as always, want to focus on some positives first. As I said, there is definitely an audience out there for this book (however, even this audience I think will feel that they’ve read many similar, better versions of this same story). The writing is also quite approachable and the action starts out right away. This is a fairly short book by fantasy standards, coming in at just over 300 pages. And it’s clear that the author is wasting no time getting to the point.

However, for me, that was where the problems started. I barely felt like I knew, let alone cared, about the main character between the story was immediately barreling into main plot points. What’s more, what I did know about the character had largely come from Verve herself simply informing me of her own traits and how she compared to the other members of her family. Of course, she is the brave, provider type who is too stubborn for her own good. It is this last point that really drew my ire as the book continues.

Per the ACOTAR standard, she is, of course, captured by a Fae lord and caught up in a bunch of Fae drama. In most fantasy novels, this should be the point where things really get good. Here are the opportunities for the heroine to rise to the occasion, to put her oft-declared strengths to the test. But instead, she comes across as foolish, stubborn to the point of stupidity, and petulant in the manner of a toddler. As someone who is currently raising toddlers, in no way do I want to read a novel where the heroine chooses to not listen to good advice and bizarrely ignore blatant realities around her all because she’s “sticking it to the power,” essentially.

Not only did this lead me to actively disliking the main character through much of it (honestly, I was starting to feel sympathy for her captors who were just trying to keep her from self-destructing), but many of her ridiculous decisions were necessary to drive the plot forward. I’ve ranted about this many times, but it’s almost guaranteed for me to low rate a book when I discover a plot that hinges on a character needing to be ridiculous, foolish, or just plain stupid. Yes, there are characters who experience growth through these traits, but even then, the traits themselves shouldn’t be necessary for the plot to move forward, except in the most rare of instances and part of a larger character arc.

I really struggled to like anything about this book, which was really too bad. I do like the overall premise, even if it is fairly familiar. And, again, that cover is a banger. There was also clearly a lot of ideas that were hinted at in this story, a unique religion, a magic system, some world0building. But none of it was fully fleshed out or enough to compensate for the frustrations I felt with regards to the plot and main character. Fans who are very devoted to Fae fantasy may want to check this out, but if you’re wary of the subgenre currently, this one won’t redeem your faith.

Rating 6: Not my cup of tea with a heroine who was annoying at best and actively unlikable much of the time.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Brittle” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Books about Faery.

Serena’s Review: “Forged by Blood”

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Book: “Forged by Blood” by Ehigbor Okosun

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: A brilliant new voice brings a brilliant new novel: debut author Ehigbor Okosun’s first book in an action-packed, poignant duology inspired by Nigerian mythology–full of magic and emotion and set in a highly atmospheric, complex world in which a young woman fights to survive a tyrannical society, having everything stripped away from her, and seeks vengeance for her mother’s murder and the spilled blood of her people.

In the midst of a tyrannical regime and political invasion, Dèmi just wants to survive: to avoid the suspicion of the nonmagical Ajes who occupy her ancestral homeland of Ife; to escape the King’s brutal genocide of her people—the darker skinned, magic wielding Oluso; and to live peacefully with her secretive mother while learning to control the terrifying blood magic that is her birthright.

But when Dèmi’s misplaced trust costs her mother’s life, survival gives way to vengeance. She bides her time until the devious Lord Ekwensi grants her the perfect opportunity—kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso. With the help of her reckless childhood friend Colin, Dèmi succeeds, but discovers that she and Jonas share more than deadly secrets; every moment tangles them further into a forbidden, unmistakable attraction, much to Colin’s—and Dèmi’s—distress.

The kidnapping is now a joint mission: to return to the King, help get Lord Ekwensi on the council, and bolster the voice of the Oluso in a system designed to silence them. But the way is dangerous, Dèmi’s magic is growing yet uncertain, and it’s not clear if she can trust the two men at her side.

Review: I was really excited when I saw this book scheduled for release this summer. I’ve read some great fantasy novels based on various African cultures’ myths, and I was intrigued to see what Nigerian myths and stories had to offer. I also think the cover on this one is really neat. Though it does read as very YA to me, which I find to be a really strange choice for an adult fantasy novel. And, unfortunately, this confusion of reading group is really something that brought this read down for me.

But first, let’s start with the good things. Fantasy novels really live and die by their magic systems and their world-building. I think there were some unique ideas for each offered up in this book. Early on, I was definitely intrigued by the nature of this world and how exactly the magical elements wove throughout the way this society operated. Unfortunately, things began to go off the rails fairly quickly.

While I was interested in the magic elements, as the story went on, I struggled to really put together how all of this was meant to work. Further, some of this explanation and continued world-building would be plopped down right in the middle of action scenes, really halting any momentum that had been building. There were also a lot of new terms and language, and these, too, were simply thrown at readers with very little introduction. Perhaps an index or glossary could have helped ease readers in (something that I think most fantasy novels could benefit from, regardless of where they’re pulling their inspiration). These kinds of challenges with pacing and how to properly introduce your reader to a new world are often found with debut authors, and, when given time to grow their craft, can be greatly improved upon in future books. Such is the hope here.

Also, as I said regarding the cover, there felt like there was some disconnect in whom the target audience is meant to be for this book. The overall tone and style of the writing read as very young to me, and many of the choices with the main character also fell into common YA tropes. For example, the main character repeatedly had to not learn from her mistakes and make obvious errors in judgement to simply move the plot in the direction it was meant to go. There was also a very unfortunate love triangle with basically zero chemistry between any of the members. Honestly, if I hadn’t known that this was marketed as an adult fantasy novel, I would never have guessed that it hadn’t been meant as YA.

And that’s not to say that YA has to have simplistic writing or fall into trope-y traps; I’ve read a number of fantastic ones this year. But I do think that adult readers will have a lower tolerance for some of these things, and that this book would have been better suited for a younger audience. Even there, however, there were a number of weaknesses in the writing (there were times where the writing simply failed to properly describe what and how things were happening) and characterization (I think the interactions between almost all of the characters were fairly simplistic and predictable) that would have prevented this one from being a hit for me.

Rating 6: There were hints of what could have been a good story, but the weaker aspects of the writing really prevented me from enjoying this one.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Forged by Blood” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Africa-Influenced Epic Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “Harvest House”

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Book: “Harvest House” by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Publishing Info: Candlewick Press, April 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: Deftly leading readers to the literary crossroads of contemporary realism and haunting mystery, Cynthia Leitich Smith revisits the world of her American Indian Youth Literature Award winner Hearts Unbroken. Halloween is near, and Hughie Wolfe is volunteering at a new rural attraction: Harvest House. He’s excited to take part in the fun, spooky show—until he learns that an actor playing the vengeful spirit of an “Indian maiden,” a ghost inspired by local legend, will headline. Folklore aside, unusual things have been happening at night at the crossroads near Harvest House. A creepy man is stalking teenage girls and young women, particularly Indigenous women; dogs are fretful and on edge; and wild animals are behaving strangely. While Hughie weighs how and when to speak up about the bigoted legend, he and his friends begin to investigate the crossroads and whether it might be haunted after all. As Moon rises on All Hallow’s Eve, will they be able to protect themselves and their community? Gripping and evocative, Harvest House showcases a versatile storyteller at her spooky, unsettling best.

Review: One of the most confounding book moments of 2023 thus far was I was having a hell of a time remembering a certain book that ran across my timeline. I am the kind of person who, when I see a book in passing that sounds interesting but doesn’t REALLY process in my brain so well, tells myself that SURELY I don’t need to make note of said book, because surely I will remember it. That’s what happened with “Harvest House” by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I saw it on Goodreads, thought ‘oh that sounds neat’, and then kept scrolling… and couldn’t remember it for a good long while. But eventually I did find it and tossed it on my request list, post haste! A Halloween haunted house attraction mixed with an actual ghost story with themes of Indigenous issues in the United States sounded really promising. The latter part of that description worked well, but the former? Not as much as I had hoped.

Like most of the time I will start with the things that did work. I really appreciated how Smith brings up themes of racism and appropriation towards and from Indigenous groups in American society, especially within a Halloween context. Lord knows every year the message ‘my culture is not a costume’ is ever relevant as you see people STILL dressing up in offensive Indigenous stereotypes and using imagery that is important to the culture said people are not a part of. I liked that our protagonist Hughie was grappling with this while volunteering at a town haunted house attraction, that wants to use a local legend of the ghost of an Indigenous girl as one part of the experience, as well as an ‘Indian burial ground’. Hughie is deeply uncomfortable with this, and his boss, Ms. Fischer, just doesn’t understand why these depictions are offensive and insensitive, and this part of the book is a great way to work through why these things are as such. I also kind of liked that Ms. Fischer, while completely clueless, wasn’t a moustache twirling villain, as it approaches the topic in a way that shows that sometimes this kind of racism comes from ignorance as opposed to malevolence, but still needs to be called out. The more contemporary YA elements of this book really clicked with me.

But here is the flip side of all that. I definitely picked this book up in part because I like books that have relevant things to say when it comes to social issues, but I ALSO picked it up because it sounded like it was going to be, ultimately, a ghost story with some horror-centric moments that weave in and out with the messages at hand. But unfortunately, I didn’t feel like the horror elements of “Harvest House” were prevalent enough. We do get some good first person perspective moments from Celeste, the ghost of an Indigenous young adult who is haunting The Crossroads, but it took until probably the last fifth of the book for there to be actual solid interactions between the ghost moments and Hughie. We do get a second hand account of another character encountering something strange at the Crossroads (with description of an online video), but it doesn’t last long, and then there are no more ghostly interactions until much later. It just didn’t feel like there was enough horror throughout the novel. I would say that perhaps removing the ghostly stuff and just stuck with the mystery about what happened at the Crossroads as the sole focus, but even that was abruptly wrapped up in one scene which felt more like an afterthought than anything else. I really just wanted more.

So while I really liked the social justice themes that were in this book, “Harvest House” felt less like a horror novel and more like a contemporary story with some supernatural stuff tacked on. A bit of a disappointment on the horror front, but still a read with some important points to make.

Rating 6: I liked the themes and I liked the messages about racism, appropriation, and misogyny, but for being a horror story it didn’t have the amount of horror that I would have liked.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Harvest House” is included on the Goodreads list “BIPOC Boy MC in YA Fantasy/SciFi/Mystery”.

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: “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.

Kate’s Review: “We’ll Never Tell”

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

Book: “We’ll Never Tell” by Wendy Heard

Publishing Info: Little, Brown/Ottaviano, May 2023

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

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

Book Description: An ambitious and juicy whodunit doused in Hollywood lore, perfect for readers of sexy summer thrillers like The Twin by Natasha Preston and The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.

No one at Hollywood High knows who’s behind We’ll Never Tell—a viral YouTube channel where the anonymous creators trespass behind the scenes of LA’s most intriguing locales. The team includes CASEY, quiet researcher and trivia champ; JACOB, voice narrator and video editor, who is secretly dating EDDIE, aspiring filmmaker; and ZOE, coder and breaking-and-entering extraordinaire.

Now senior year is winding down, and with their lives heading in different directions, the YouTubers vow to go out with a bang. Their last episode will be filmed at the infamous Valentini “murder house,” which has been left abandoned, bloodstained, and untouched since a shocking murder/suicide in 1972. When the teens break in, they capture epic footage. But someone trips an alarm, and it’s a mad dash to get out before the police arrive—at which point they realize only three of them escaped instead of four. Jacob is still inside, slain and bleeding out. Is his attack connected to the historic murder, or is one of their crew responsible?

A week of suspicions and cover-ups unfolds as Casey and her remaining friends try to stay alive long enough to solve murder mysteries past and present. If they do, their friendship may not survive. If they don’t, the house will claim more victims.

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

I had been waiting for a bit (it wasn’t really that long, but anticipation can make things feel long) for a new Wendy Heard book. I had enjoyed “She’s Too Pretty To Burn” so much for it’s weirdness, it’s sapphic love story, and the satire of art as ethos and the ramifications of that. When I read that she had a new YA thriller coming out called “We’ll Never Tell” I was excited, and when I read that the premise involved an abandoned notorious crime scene and four teens caught up in something far more dangerous than they realized, I was practically vibrating with glee. And while there are a lot of great ideas with this book, and while it was a quick read that kept me going, the anticipation leading up to it kind of slammed the breaks with what we got.

But first the good. Wendy Heard is an author I have really enjoyed in the past, and I think that part of it is that she really knows how to bring seedy and shiny aspects of Los Angeles to life. There is so much potential in this story, and I loved seeing four teens with a YouTube channel focus in on what is clearly an homage to the Los Feliz Murder Mansion, a piece of Los Angeles true crime lore as the basis for a book. I also liked that we could get a few different ways to tell the story. These include protagonist Casey, some flashbacks from Jacob leading up to the night he is attacked, and some epistolary pieces of newspaper articles involving the Valentini murder, the fallout, and some other things that involve the family and the victims. I am a huge sucker for books that use newspaper articles or other found footage or information devices. And mystery wise, I did like the twists and turns of the story, as well as the mystery of who attacked Jacob in the house. Heard does a pretty okay job of laying out clues and bringing in various potential motives and means. It’s ultimately a pretty straight forward thriller, and while I didn’t totally guess what was going on, I wasn’t totally blown away by various solutions as the puzzle pieces all started falling into place.

However, I think that one of the things that didn’t quite connect for me was our protagonist, Casey. To me it felt like there were so many things about her that weren’t quite fully explored or elaborated upon. We have her as the cynical, sullen girl with the tragic past, given that her mother was murdered and it went unsolved, and she has been living with her grandmother and they have been barely holding on financially. She has a chip on her shoulder about some of her friends (mostly Zoe; Zoe is wealthy and, while well meaning, is sometimes clueless about her financial situation versus Casey’s), she really hates ‘true crime’, and she doesn’t always feel like she totally fits in with her peer group. It tended to creep a bit towards ‘not like other girls’, as there were a lot of first person perspective reminders about how no one else GETS it. I wasn’t super invested in her as a character, nor was I interested in the potential relationship she has with Dallas, a descendent of the Valentini family whose mother is owner of the Murder House property. I also didn’t quite understand what the purpose of her tragic background was, as it’s there to make her tragic but doesn’t really apply to the plot as a whole. It felt a lot like backstory was trying to do a lot of character development heavy lifting, and that just doesn’t quite work in this book.

I had higher hopes for “We’ll Never Tell”. The set up was pretty great, but the execution didn’t really reinvent any wheels. Certainly not something I regret reading, but I wanted more.

Rating 6: Lots of potential and a great set up, but ultimately it’s pretty run of the mill with a bland main character.

Reader’s Advisory:

“We’ll Never Tell” is included on the Goodreads list “Most Anticipated May 2023 Young Adult Releases”.

Serena’s Review: “Beauty Reborn”

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Book: “Beauty Reborn” by Elizabeth Lowham

Publishing Info: Shadow Mountain Publishing, May 2023

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

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

Book Description: Beauty’s life is the stuff of fairy tales. The youngest in her family, Beauty isn’t trying to catch Stephan’s eye. He is the lord baron’s heir, well above her family’s modest station, but when he kisses her hand at a party, Beauty is swept away by his charm, his wit, and his passionate declarations of love.

Hearts can be untamable creatures, especially when touched by the fires of first love, and Beauty doesn’t see the truth of Stephan’s intentions until it is too late. Until he stops asking for Beauty’s love—and simply takes it from her one night despite her refusal.

Beauty locks away the secret of what happened to her, and when her father emerges from the enchanted forest with a stolen rose in his hand and the tale of a vicious beast on his breath, Beauty seizes the chance to run as far from Stephan as possible.

She has some experience with beasts, after all. Certainly the one in the forest couldn’t be any worse than the one she’s already encountered.

Breaking the Beast’s curse might be the key to discovering her own path to healing—and finding the courage to allow herself to feel reborn.

Review: First of all, thank you so much to Shadow Mountain Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book! This was definitely one those cover lust situations when it came to my initial interest. I’m on the record as not necessarily loving covers with models or people, but I think this one is dramatic and lovely in all the best ways. It instantly conveys the general tone of the book and immediately draws the eye of the type of reader who I think will likely be interested in this one. When I read on to discover this was a “Beauty and the Beast” retelling, requesting it became a no-brainer!

Beauty’s first experiences with “love” left her traumatized and untrusting. So when her family’s destitution forces them to move from the city to a smaller house in the country, Beauty is relieved to escape the man of her nightmares. And when her father returns from the forest one night raving about a monster, Beauty sees an opportunity to make some use from the tatters that is her current life. But when she arrives at the magical castle and encounters this beastly being, Beauty begins to understand that we are more than the marks that life has left upon us. And that perhaps love can still be in her future.

While this book wasn’t a hit for me, I always want to start with the strengths. One thing that stood out right away was the general readability of the style of writing. The story was very approachable and I think the style of storytelling will appeal to a lot of readers. The use of flashbacks also keeps the pacing zipping along, allowing to Beauty to arrive at the castle and meet the Beast quite quickly. It’s a short book, as well, so this is definitely the kind of fast-moving read that will appeal to fairytale fantasy lovers who want something they can finish over a weekend.

I also liked the general premise of the book, that in many ways Beauty chose to go to the castle as a way of dealing with her own trauma. In theory, she was given a fairly solid arch of her own that she could develop while also falling in love with the Beast and undoing his curse. Unfortunately, this book really struggled to portray either the Beast or Beauty as nuanced, fully realized characters. Beauty’s narration and story felt oddly flat, never giving me anything unique or interesting to really latch on to. Many other authors have played on the starkness of the name “Beauty” to highlight how their version of the heroine is so much more than just a pretty face. Alas, here, this Beauty read just as one-note has her name would suggest.

Beast was even worse, sadly, in that we’re really given next to nothing to go on. He doesn’t have any POV, but there are plenty of other stories that have created interesting and fully realized love interests without getting into the head of the hero. But while he was sweet and kind enough, he was also supremely dull. Again, the term “one note” comes to mind. With both of these characters reading so lackluster on their own, it was almost inevitable that the romance between them would also be a bit of a let down.

Finally, there is really no world building to be found in this book. Randomly it’s mentioned that there are fairies in this world, and that, while rare, they are perfectly understood to just be around. But that’s it. I had a hard time really picturing many of the locations we visit, and ultimately just felt rather unmoored and struggling to fully commit to the story. Ultimately, I think fantasy fans who are very devoted to fairytale retellings miiiiiight want to check this one out, but I do think there are many better versions of “Beauty and the Beast” out there. It’s really too bad though, because there is always room for another excellent version! This just wasn’t it.

Rating 6: Unfortunately, the one-note characters and lackluster world-building left me underwhelmed with this retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.”

Reader’s Advisory:

“Beauty Reborn” is on this Goodreads list: YA Releases May 2023

Serena’s Review: “Wings Once Cursed and Bound”

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Book: “Wings Once Cursed and Bound” by Piper J. Drake

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Casablanca, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description:

My wings unbound, I am the Thai bird princess
The kinnaree
And no matter the cost,
I will be free.

Bennet Andrews represents a secret organization of supernatural beings dedicated to locating and acquiring mythical objects, tucking them safely away where they cannot harm the human race. When he meets Peeraphan Rahttana, it’s too late—she has already stepped into The Red Shoes, trapped by their curse to dance to her death.

But Bennet isn’t the only supernatural looking for deadly artifacts. And when the shoes don’t seem to harm Peeraphan, he realizes that he’ll have to save her from the likes of creatures she never knew existed. Bennett sweeps Peeraphan into a world of myth and power far beyond anything she ever imagined. There, she finds that magic exists in places she never dreamed—including deep within herself.

Review: First of all, thank you so much to the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, for sending me an ARC of this book! I can say that the cover is just as fantastic in person as it seems from the small image above. Very unique and vibrant, just the sort of cover that would make me pause when browsing the aisles of the bookstore. Unfortunately, however, I didn’t enjoy the actual book itself nearly as much.

When a fellow dancer hands Peeraphan a box with beautiful red dancing shoes, she can’t resist their magnetic appeal. Now, however, she finds that these are not in fact ordinary shoes, but slippers that have been cursed to compel their wearer to dance themselves to death. Luckily for Peeraphan, her own magical heritage has given her some level of protection from the shoes themselves. But there are those who are hunting artifacts like these, and they don’t seem to care that the shoes are currently attached to a living woman. Another artifact hunter, a vampire named Bennet, has also been tracking the shoes, but after meeting Peeraphan, he realizes that much more is at stake than a simple recovering mission.

I initially requested this book because of the very intriguing premise of the Thai legend of the kinnaree. Urban fantasy has long been entrapped by the classic monsters like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. So I was incredibly excited to see a story focused on a lesser known legend. I also know next to nothing about Thai folklore or the legend of the kinnaree. Unfortunately, I still don’t. I’m not exactly sure what happened here really. I feel like I was sold on this very specific premise, but then I started reading the book and it turned out to be…not that. Our main character, who also goes by Punch (dislike), knows next to nothing about her own abilities. And then as the book goes on, very little is added on to that. Instead, we were once again bogged down with vampires and the typical “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” ilk.

I also never felt like Punch was given much characterization. The shoes show up with in the first few pages, far too quickly for any good character work to have been established prior. And from there, the action quickly sweeps her along, but I’m never given any reason why I should care or be particularly invested in her story. Instead, I was mostly just frustrated from the start! She senses something strange about the shoes right off the bat, and then, of course, just puts them on anyways. It wasn’t a strong start for the character, and the story never seemed to recover from there.

I also didn’t really care for Bennet or the romance as a whole. Again, his character and story felt incredibly familiar, with very little new to say about vampires or any of the other beings we encounter. The love story also felt rushed towards the end, and I couldn’t tell exactly who the audience was for this book. It didn’t feel as if it could commit fully one way or another, reading at certain points as very YA and then at others trying to take on a more gritty, adult tone.

Overall, the entire thing really didn’t work for me. Part of the problem was that I had fairly high expectations going in. I was really excited by the idea of a new urban fantasy story that was pulling from lesser known legends, and then when the book failed to deliver on that, it was hard to latch on to anything else. I think there will be readers who enjoy it, however, especially those who really enjoy urban fantasies as a whole. It just wasn’t for me, sadly.

Rating 6: While it’s an acceptable urban fantasy on the whole, I feel like the primary premise, that of the legendary Thai kinnaree, was a complete let-down.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Wings Once Cursed and Bound” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Fairytale Retellings in Contemporary Romance.

Serena’s Review: “Flowerheart”

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Book: “Flowerheart” by Catherine Bakewell

Publishing Info: HarperTeen, March 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest.

The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into a mysterious and distant young man.

Xavier names a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers their bargain is only one of the heavy secrets he’s hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that’s taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara’s magic is powerful enough to stop.

Review: This is definitely one of those books that I first looked at because of the cover. It immediately stood out when I was scrolling through Edelweiss+ planning out my spring reading schedule. Tons of books with daggers and swords on the covers, lots of duo characters drawn in that cartoonish style that is so popular right now (not that I dislike this style per se, just there’s a lot of it). This cover’s unique art immediately stood out and had me clicking through to the description. So well done there!

Clara has always struggled to control her magic, so much so that the local leaders have presented her with a terrible ultimatum to prevent her from injuring others. But before she can go through with it, the worst happens and an innocent touch causes her magic to sprout poisonous plants in her father’s chest, dooming him to a painful and slow death. When an old friend offers to help her tame her magic in an attempt to save her father’s life, she doesn’t even hesitate in the face of the steep price he requests. But when it becomes clear that Xavier is caught up in much darker forces than she had previously known, Clara begins to wonder with just whom did she strike her perilous bargain?

One thing that I found interesting when I was looking into this book was that it was marketed as a “cottage core” fantasy novel. What does that even mean? As far as I’m aware “cottage core” is a style of interior decoration. I’m not sure how that translates to a genre of book? Digging deeper, I discovered that there seems to be a recent trend of labeling some books “cozy fantasy,” which I imagine is just a spin-off from the more popular “cozy mystery” subcategory. Based on the latter, I’d guess that a cozy fantasy novel would be a story that avoids darker themes or graphic descriptions. Like cozy mysteries, they would focus on lighter topics and have happy endings, essentially. All of this to say, while I could see how cozy fantasy would apply to this story, I still have no clue about “cottage core.” And honestly, I’m not a fan of that description; interior decoration styles and genres of books are just not the same thing. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyways, that rant aside, I can definitely see how this book could fall into the “cozy” category. Overall, it does stay on the lighter side of things and the plot wraps up with a nice bow at the end. But this book also highlights why a lot of cozy mysteries don’t work for me either. Look, I don’t need tragedy around every corner and tons of graphic violence, but if you paint in only bright colors, without any shades of grey, the entire thing starts to just lose focus and interest. Clara is fine. Xavier is fine. This world and magic are fine. But I didn’t care about any of them.

I also found the magic system and world to be barely fleshed out at all. Towards the second third of the book, we begin to learn about a magical illness that is going around that leaves its victims comatose. This was the first thing to trigger my interest, but even that quickly sank into the quagmire of dullness that I found this read. Nothing was objectively bad, but it all was just so flat feeling that even small points of interest quickly faded away.

There was also an attempt by the author to deal with mental illness, particularly depression and anxiety. And while I applaud the effort, I don’t think it quite hit the mark. At points, it felt incredibly over-simplified and the metaphors heavy-handed. And then Clara has this weird relationship to her own magic where she speaks to it as a living, thinking being using this strange internal dialogue, which I wasn’t a fan of. It turns out that this particular choice plays a larger role later in the story, but that was still too late to save my reading experience through which I had been perpetually annoyed by this.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me. I do think that readers looking for something in the cozy category may enjoy this one more, but I’ve started coming to the conclusion that “cozy” any genre is just not my cup of tea.

Rating 6: Perhaps other readers looking for just a quick, cozy read will enjoy this, but I found everything from the world-building to characterization to be a bit too watered down to enjoy.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Flowerheart” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Books that inspired or are similar to Studio Ghibli / Hayao Miyazaki films and CozySFF

Kate’s Review: “The Spite House”

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Book: “The Spite House” by Johnny Compton

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, February 2023

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

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

Book Description: Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.

When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.

The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father’s love, Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.

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

I love seeing what other horror reviewers and horror minded people are all abuzz about. It’s a nice way to get the fingers on the pulse, and while I’ve had success and failings when it comes to following these trends, I really do like to try and cast a wide net for titles on various social media and online platforms. This is how I came upon Johnny Compton’s “The Spite House”, a debut horror novel about a strange and haunted house that a family moves into. The owner has secrets, but so does the family, consisting of Eric and his daughters Dess and Stacy. All of this combined with the hype made me pretty excited for this book. But I can solidly say that this one was pretty mixed for me.

But I will start with what worked first! Compton really knows how to amp up the suspense factor in this book, in two different ways. The first way is the obvious suspense, which is about the haunted Spite House. I loved some of the really freaky ghost moments in this book, whether it was described imagery inside and outside of the house (spectres through windows, hell yes), and the way that our characters, be it Eric or Dess or whomever, would be in a darkened area in the house and would have a moment that would just make my blood run cold. I love a well done haunted house story, and man oh man does this book have some really well done haunted house moments. The other less obvious suspenseful angle was the mystery as to why Eric, Dess, and Stacy are on the run and trying to be incognito. All the reader knows is that they are driving cross country, trying to stay under the radar, and worried that they are going to be spotted or noticed. Compton takes his time to carefully reveal what is going on here. And let me tell you, when we DID find out what it was? My mind was blown. Part of me was like ‘is this a little too out of left field?’ But the louder part of me was like ‘no, shut up, you love this’. And I did.

But this does kind of segue into the aspects that didn’t work as well for me. The first issue is the pacing of this book. I kind of mentioned above that the reveal of why Eric and his kids are running just blew my mind. And it did. Like, I really liked it. BUT, by the time we got to it, we were a good three fourths into the book, with a lot of teasing and drawing out leading up to it. I appreciate holding cards to the vest, but sometimes curiosity can turn to frustration and impatience. And then things kind of got into a whirlwind right before the end, followed by a bit of a drawn out post-climax. Along with that, there are a lot of perspectives in this book. Some of them we get to see multiple times, which makes sense, we absolutely need to get into Eric’s head, and Dess and Stacy’s heads. But there were also the perspectives of some side characters that we only spent the minimal amount of time with, and it didn’t feel necessary, really. If anything it contributed to the lagging pace.

The above said, overall I thought that “The Spite House” had some really strong bits. I definitely want to see what else Johnny Compton comes out with, because the horror moments are unnerving as all get out.

Rating 6: Eerie and unnerving, “The Spite House” is a tense haunted house story. The pacing could have picked up a bit and the number of perspectives get a bit overdone, but the pay off is mostly worth it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Spite House” is included on the Goodreads list “2023 Gothic”.