Tag: 7 Rating

Joint Review: “The Seventh Veil of Salome”

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Book: “The Seventh Veil of Salome” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publishing Info: Del Rey, August 2024

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate received an eARC from NetGalley;

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

Book Description: A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine — but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the author of Mexican Gothic.

1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.

So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.

Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination.

But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.

Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.

Kate’s Thoughts

I am always game to read a new book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, as she has truly proven herself to be a literary powerhouse who can easily jump from genre to genre. She has done horror, fantasy, Sci-Fi, romance, thrillers, she really nails every genre she takes on. Because of this I was very excited for “The Seventh Veil of Salome”, as not only was it a historical fiction novel, it also had a focus on 1950s Hollywood and all the glitz, glamor, and tragedy that comes with it. As someone who loves that kind of thing, I went in with very high hopes.

I can safely say that this was a bit of a mixed bag for me in spite of my high hopes. But that has a bit less to do with execution and more to do with my expectations, I am willing to bet. Mostly because I have absolutely no background knowledge of the story of Salome, being someone who grew up with no religion in her life and no experience with even the Biblical epics of Hollywood from this time (no I haven’t seen “The Ten Commandments”, or “Ben-Hur”, or “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, or anything like that). I had never even heard of her until I picked up this book, and I feel like that made the parts of the book that followed her not as interesting as they could have been. I had no way to understand what Moreno-Garcia was doing with her story and how it was subverting or reinterpreting the original story, and I found myself skimming those sections. That said, I REALLY enjoyed the parts of the book that followed Vera Larios, a recently discovered actress from Mexico who is set to play Salome in a 1950s Biblical epic, as Moreno-Garcia really captured the way that Hollywood was such a fantasy, but also cutthroat, racist, and misogynistic, especially in the time of the studios having lots of power and morality codes running amok. Watching Vera rise and fall, due to the nastiness of those surrounding her, was compelling and incredibly engaging.

So while some of “The Seventh Veil of Salome” was a bit lost on me, the Hollywood plot was really well done. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has done it again!

Serena’s Thoughts

In the funny way that these things tend to work, I had the opposite experience of this book while also coming to the same ultimate conclusion! In the end (as you’ll see), I rated this one the same as Kate did, as certain parts worked well for me, but other didn’t as much. The opposite part is that I was much more invested in the Biblical story of Salome than I was in the Hollywood story! Even with a fairly thorough understanding of Bible stories, Salome is not a character who is often explored. She has a throw-away scene that is rarely explored in any depth, which makes her the ideal character for a story such as this that attempts to flesh her out into a more actualized character. I found her entire story fascinating (though I’ll admit that having familiarity with Bible stories and history will likely help readers in this part). I also enjoy historical fiction, so simply genre-wise, this was the part of the story that connected with the type of book I often gravitate towards.

However, the Hollywood story was a bit more of a mixed bag. It seems that Moreno-Garcia is on a bit of a kick with old-time movies as her last book also focused on the history of Mexican cinematography. Unfortunately for me, I’m not really interested in these topics, so they don’t hit as well for me as they do for fans of Hollywood and cinema history. That said, I was pleased to see the return of Moreno-Garcia’s classic POV villain. She excels at writing characters you love-to-hate, and here was another classic example! That said, like Kate with the Salome story, I did find myself skimming through some of the Hollywood story lines.

I think the take-away here is that there is no denying this author’s talent, especially at genre-hopping and taking on obscure stories and points in history. This one is a combination of two very different storylines, so parts may work for certain readers, and other parts for other readers. Or you’ll be that unicorn reader who has been on the look-out for a book that covers lesser-known Bible characters AND Hollywood history!

Kate’s Rating 7: I really enjoyed the Hollywood parts, but the actual story of Salome dragged a bit for me at times. All in all, a solid historical fiction tale from a literary chameleon!

Serena’s Rating 7: On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Bible characters parts, but struggled more with the Hollywood storyline. However, the author remains an incredibly solid writer and I can’t wait to check out her next title!

Reader’s Advisory

“The Seventh Veil of Salome” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Hollywood and Theatre Fiction”, and “Anticipated Literary Reads for Readers of Color 2024”.

Serena’s Review: “Apprentice to the Villain”

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Book: “Apprentice to the Villain” by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Publishing Info: Penguin, August 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from a marketer!

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

Book Description: From the creator of the viral TikTok videos about the sunshine assistant to the evil villain and their unexpected romance comes the second book in the hotly-anticipated fantasy romance series.

Review: This one might come a bit as a surprise, as I didn’t review the first book when it came out last summer. But I did read it! I just didn’t have that many thoughts to add to the conversation. I mostly thought it was fine, verging on having a lot of potential with some of the snappier moments of writing. With this in mind, I was excited to check this one out when the marketer contacted me about reading and reviewing the sequel this summer! Let’s dive in!

I will say, now that I have read this book, I feel that a review for the first book is even less necessary than it was before! In that, many of my opinions from that book transferred over to this one. This was probably most notable in areas that were frustrating in them both, but some of the aspects that I thought were strengths came even more into their own here. For one thing, I think the writing is very fun and engaging. Even when I was perhaps suppressing an eyeroll or two, I was still compulsively reading at break-neck pace! That was true in the first book and was just as true here. In fact, I’d say the writing improved overall. Most notably, perhaps, I think some of the comedy aspects of this one landed better. (Though, I’ve had a rough summer with comedic fantasy novels, so sometimes I worry that I may just be desperately searching for one that works at all!)

However, I still struggled with the characterization of the female main character, Evie. Look, I enjoyed the “grumpy/sunshine” romance trope as much as the next person, but there is a very fine line between writing a “sunshine”/optimistic character and writing one that comes across as a rather air-headed child. And unfortunately, both in the first book and here, that’s the case for Evie. Some of this comes down to word-choice on the author’s part, often using turns of phrases repeatedly, such as “scrunches her nose,” that does nothing to portray Evie as a serious character. When paired with the romantic hero (generally a better written character, especially in this second book), it leads to a bit of an “ick” factor. If we weren’t given an age, Evie could read like a 13-year old girl with the way she is described and her incredible levels of naivete at points. While I think the more plot-focused approach that this book took helped it some in comparison to the first, I still found myself disappointed by this portrayal, and due to this, the romance itself.

All of this said, I know that the first book was wildly popular, and as this one is much of the same, I have no doubt that it, too, will be well-received. If you’re looking for tight plotting or deeper character arcs, I don’t think this series is for you. But if you’re wanting a fast, at times quite fun, ride than you might enjoy this.

Rating 7: If you enjoyed the first book, this one will be for you. But many of my personal struggles there carried over here as well, particularly with regards to the child-like characterization of the heroine.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Assistant to the Villain” can be found on these Goodreads lists: In Her Villain Era and Witchy Fall Vibes

Serena’s Review: “The Coven”

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Book: “The Coven” by Harper L. Woods

Publishing Info: Bramble, August 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thirteen promising students destined to change the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Long Live Evil”

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Book: “Long Live Evil” by Sarah Rees Brennan

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Castle of the Cursed”

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Book: “Castle of the Cursed” by Romina Garber

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, July 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Kate’s Review: “The Drowning House”

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Book: “The Drowning House” by Cherie Priest

Publication Info: Poisoned Pen Press, July 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

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

Book Review: A violent storm washes a mysterious house onto a rural Pacific Northwest beach, stopping the heart of the only woman who knows what it means. Her grandson, Simon Culpepper, vanishes in the aftermath, leaving two of his childhood friends to comb the small, isolated island for answers―but decades have passed since Melissa and Leo were close, if they were ever close at all.

Now they’ll have to put aside old rivalries and grudges if they want to find or save the man who brought them together in the first place―and on the way they’ll learn a great deal about the sinister house on the beach, the man who built it, and the evil he’s bringing back to Marrowstone Island.

From award-winning author Cherie Priest comes a deeply haunting and atmospheric horror-thriller that explores the lengths we’ll go to protect those we love.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

The description of “The Drowning House” by Cherie Priest made me do a double take the first time I read it. Surely I had read it wrong! A house, a full on HOUSE, washes up on a beach after a crazy storm? Obviously it has to be supernatural or something like that, but still, the very CONCEPT was SO interesting to me that I knew that I HAD to read the book. And not only do we have a weird house washing up on shore, we also have a missing man, his grandmother who died the night he vanished, which also happens to be the night the house washed ashore, and his childhood friends coming back to the small island community to try and find him, only to find something supernatural and menacing. All of these things come together to make a very odd read. In a good way, mostly.

There are lots of very creative aspects of this book, from the idea of an abandoned house washing up on shore, to some of the ancient magical and ritualistic elements that Priest creates for this book, to the concepts of communicating between dimensions and the way that this is achieved (mild spoiler but I HAVE to talk about it: a deranged otherworldly switchboard with some rather gruesome elements showed up at one point and I was completely horrified but also enthralled). I also did like some of the horror imagery, from figures materializing in the mist, to small town tragedies of missing boys whose spirits are seen crying the corners of Mrs. Culpepper’s home. So many of these things really worked for me, and it had this seaside atmosphere that was always tinted with some ominous undertones. It’s weird and dreamy and somewhat unnerving. I think that I would more categorize this as dark fantasy with horror elements as opposed to straight up horror, but trust me, the horror elements are on point.

The one critique I do have of this book is that I wasn’t as interested in our main characters Melissa and Leo, and their personal journey of having to team up in spite of their uneasy history in hopes of saving Simon, their childhood friend they are both deeply enamored with. I thought that they both had interesting back stories and understandable and believable motivations, but their tension never really resolved itself to create a genuine partnership that I was rooting for. Even getting flashbacks to their childhood and their friendship with Simon and some insight into Mrs. Culpepper’s background and her home (as well as some reveals about her connection to the washed up house and certain other things) didn’t really bring as much out of them as I would have liked.

Overall I think that “The Drowning House” has some really creepy beats and some really creative world building. But boy do I wish that the characterization had a little more oomph.

Rating 7: An atmospheric and at times creepy read, though I would say that “The Drowning House”‘s main characters weren’t as engaging as I had hoped they would be.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Drowning House” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it would fit in on “Gothic Vibes (Modern Books)”.

Serena’s Review: “These Deathless Shores”

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

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2024

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

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

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

If that makes her the villain…so be it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “The Night Ends with Fire”

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Book: “The Night Ends with Fire” by K. X. Song

Publishing Info: Ace, July 2024

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

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

Book Description: The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.

The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.

In the army, Meilin’s relentless hard work brings her recognition, friendship—and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner. But has she simply exchanged one prison for another? As her kingdom barrels toward destruction, Meilin begins to have visions of a sea dragon spirit that offers her true power and freedom, but with a deadly price.

With the future of the Three Kingdoms hanging in the balance, Meilin will need to decide whom to trust—Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; the sea dragon spirit, who has his own murky agenda; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew—about her kingdom and about her own heart.

Review: I’ve been eagerly looking forward to checking out this book since back in January when I put together my picks for our “most anticipated” list for 2024. I love fairytale/fable re-tellings, and “Mulan” is one of those stories that has only been re-imagined a few times, to varying levels of success. I was especially excited that this book was being billed as an adult fantasy novel, as those are even fewer and further between when it comes to this particular subgenre. So I had high hopes going in to this one!

As it turns out, this one didn’t quite live up to these expectations, but let’s start with the positives. First of all, if you’re looking for a “Mulan” retelling that pulls on your nostalgic heartstrings for the Disney movie, than this is the book for you. While it does introduce its own fantasy elements, particularly with the dragons and their magic, it also strongly reminiscent of the Disney film. At times, it almost felt like direct scenes were copied and pasted from one to the other. This could also be a criticism of the book, that it follows a bit too closely, but I also think there are plenty of readers who loved the Disney version and would be happy to see some of it translated fairly directly into a book format, so for them, this is a win.

I also liked the general idea of a lot of what this book was trying to do. It was the execution that let it down. For example, one of the major changes from the Disney version of “Mulan” to this one is a change in the main character’s motivation. Instead of being driven by a sense of duty and the wish to spare her father, Meilin is, yes, attempting to escape an arranged marriage, but also highly motivated by ambition and greed. In some of the book’s more “telling” moments, she outright tells readers that these are her primary motivations. She also wishes to prove that she, a woman, is capable of the same things men are. However, the thought isn’t taken further than that, with Meilin’s focus remaining on her own abilities as compared to men’s versus the general attitude that ALL women are done poorly by with these comparisons. Now, I think it’s entirely possible, even quite effective, to write a character whose motivations are not as sympathetic as others’ or who, while clear-sighted in one way, is very much missing the larger picture. But Meilin was not written as a strong enough character to pull this off.

Not only is the writing flat from the start, making it difficult to discern any real personality in the characters, including Meilin, but there is a distinct lack of true inner reflection or motivation given for many actions. For example, early in the book, Meilin encounters a prince who makes a throw-away comment about her kung fu abilities being as good as a man’s. She then goes home and there is a single paragraph where she reflects on this line and how it is true: she is as fast as a man and skilled at martial arts. The very next paragraph sees her up and sneaking out of her room and setting off on her journey to impersonate a soldier.

This is a huge, monumental decision, and Meilin seems to make it in the blink of an eye with no deeper thought than “hey, this hot guy said a nice thing about my fighting prowess and I guess he’s right!” It was so off-putting that I honestly went back and had to re-read to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, it was that abrupt. Transitions from paragraph to paragraph, from inner monologue to actions aren’t just the work of English classes, they are necessary for creating well-crafted stories. And it was failings like this that proved that this book wasn’t quite up to the task.

This flatness of tone carried on throughout the book. I simply struggled to care about any of these people. For lack of a better word, the book seemed to lack the heart of the story. In the movie, the deep camaraderie and friendship that Mulan builds up with her fellow soldiers and the love interest are not only engaging on their own, but later pay off with the heightened emotional stakes when the truth of her deception becomes known. Here, the reveal with the love interest falls incredibly flat, with none of the dramatic impact that you’d wish from this situation. And the friendships were almost entirely missing. I was even more put-off on the romance front when another potential love interest seemed to be introduced towards the end of the book? Of course, I can’t say for sure one way or another, but I was getting strong ACOTAR vibes with a Tamlin/Rhysand situation brewing up here. And we all know how I feel about that…

All of this said, I would by no means say that this was a bad book, on its own. Indeed, I think the author has a lot of potential, and I’d definitely be interested in checking out more in the future. I also think this book will be much appreciated by many fantasy readers, especially those who are looking for a close re-telling of “Mulan.” However, the writing and characterization were too weak at times for me to fully recommend it with no caveats.

Rating 7: The strength of the writing wasn’t quite up to the task of telling the story that it wanted, but I still think it will satisfy many readers who are looking for a solid “Mulan” re-telling.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Night Ends with Fire” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Asian SSF and East Asian Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “Winter Lost”

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Book: “Winter Lost” by Patricia Briggs

Publishing Info: Ace, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: In the supernatural realms, there are creatures who belong to winter. I am not one of them. But like the coyote I can become at will, I am adaptable.

My name is Mercy Thompson Hauptman, and my mate, Adam, is the werewolf who leads the Columbia Basin Pack, the pack charged with keeping the people who live and work in the Tri-Cities of Washington State safe. It’s a hard job, and it doesn’t leave much room for side quests. Which is why when I needed to travel to Montana to help my brother, I intended to go by myself.

But I’m not alone anymore.

Together, Adam and I find ourselves trapped with strangers in a lodge in the heart of the wilderness, in the teeth of a storm of legendary power, only to discover my brother’s issues are a tiny part of a problem much bigger than we could have imagined. Arcane and ancient magics are at work that could, unless we are very careful, bring about the end of the world. . .

Previously Reviewed: “Moon Called,” “Blood Bound,” “Iron Kissed,” “Bone Crossed,” “Silver Borne,” “River Marked,” “Frost Burned,”and “Night Broken” , “Fire Touched” , “Silence Fallen”,  “Storm Cursed”, “Smoke Bitten” and “Soul Taken”

Review: Man, every time I put together a review for the next Mercy Thompson book, I look at that “previously reviewed” section and am kind of blown away by just how many books I’ve read in this series! There have been highs and lows, though I’ve been happy with the last several books. Let’s see where this one falls on the spectrum!

So, to answer that question right off the bat: this was a fairly middling entry into the series. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was by no means my least favorite either. To start with the good, however, I was happy to see that this book focused strongly on Mercy and Adam. Their relationship is really the main factor for my continued interest in this series, so I was overjoyed when I realized the plot was maneuvering them into a situation where they would be largely alone. Or, at the very least, away from all of the greater cast of characters we’re familiar with. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of these side characters. But more and more, as the cast has increased, so much of each book becomes devoted to catching up with them all that our main characters seem to fall to the side. So here, with Mercy and Adam off on a mission into rural Montana where they are immediately stranded in a massive blizzard? *chef’s kiss* And, as usual, both of these characters are excellent in their own right, and I enjoyed getting to spend so much time with just them.

For the most part, I also liked the primary mystery at the heart of the story. There were some interesting new uses of magic and a new group of magical beings, essentially. There were some interesting tie-ins to mythology and folklore throughout. I was particularly interested in following the repercussions from the events of the previous book with the damage that was done to Mercy and her magic. And, while it was a bit convoluted, I did think this aspect of the story was managed well.

And that convolution was one of the problems I had with the book. Thinking back to review this book, I felt that it was both overly complicated and also, at the same time, very little seemed to happen. Much of the plot, especially in the final quarter of the book was simply explaining how everything got to be where it was, who manipulated the situation how, etc. But as far as actual actions, there was little to be found. We had maybe one or two action scenes, and then much of the rest of it was a variety of scenes with characters meeting new characters and compiling facts. And then in the very last few chapters, the characters essentially sit around and explain how it all worked, and that’s the climax of the book.

Also, while Mercy had the majority of chapters, with Adam coming in second, as would be expected with a plot that so heavily focused on these two, there were also random chapters from various other characters sprinkled throughout. And almost all of these were very strange. There was nothing wrong with any of these chapters, necessarily, but they all very much read like the sort of “bonus content” that you’d see added on to the end of a special edition of the book. In that, none of them were necessary to the plot of this book, all of them were from characters who were largely disconnected from the story, and they each focused on themes and interactions that, while amusing on their own, served no larger point in the overall plot. They were like brief, little snippets into random side characters’ lives. I honestly began wondering if the author wrote out the book, realized it was incredibly short, and then simply padded it with these random-feeling chapters. It was odd. And like I said, I’d have no problem reading these chapters as bonus content, as some of them were solidly entertaining on their own basis, but they also served no purpose to this story and, at times, only broke up the plotting and pacing of the main narrative.

So there you go. I liked the heavy focus on Mercy and Adam, particularly Mercy’s ongoing struggles after the events of the last book. But the plot itself is very thin and it felt like the author was forced to pad things out with random chapters and interactions that felt largely irrelevant. Long time fans of the series will want to check it out for the progression of our main characters’ storyline, but on its own merits, this one was a bit weaker than others.

Rating 7: While I loved the heavy focus on Mercy and Adam and their relationship, the actual plot and mystery of this story was on the weaker side.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Winter Lost ” can be found on this Goodreads list: Musical Instrument on the Cover.

Serena’s Review: “The Sky on Fire”

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Book: “The Sky on Fire” by Jenn Lyons

Publishing Info: Tor, July 2024

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

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

Book Description: Anahrod lives only for survival, preferring to thrive in the jungles of the Deep with the titan drake she keeps by her side. When an adventuring party saves her from capture by the local warlord, Sicaryon, she is eager to return to her solitary life, but this is no ordinary rescue. Anahrod’s past has caught up with her. And these cunning misfits intend to spirit her away to the cloud cities, where they need her help to steal from a dragon’s hoard.

There’s only one in the cloud cities, dragons rule, and the hoard in question belongs to the current regent, Neveranimas―and she wants Anahrod dead.

Fans of Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series and Rebecca Yarros’s The Fourth Wing will enjoy this page-turning adventure with conniving dragons, high-stakes intrigue, a daring heist, and a little bit of heat.

Review: I somehow still haven’t read Jenn Lyons’ popular “Chorus of Dragons” series. And, as it is with all multi-book series, at a certain point it begins to feel a bit intimidating to start! So I was thrilled to see she was releasing a standalone fantasy book this summer! What better way to get on the bandwagon without having to commit to an entire series right from the start! It was helped by the fact that the book itself has an excellent cover. It’s eye-catching enough on its own, but it gets even better the longer you look at it, when you start noticing the details of the castle and city. So definite props to the artist on this one!

Unfortunately, this wasn’t quite the homerun of a read that I was hoping for. I will say that it’s easy to see how this author could be capable of producing a beloved fantasy series, and, given some of my problems with this book in particular, some of the weaknesses I found here could easily translate into strengths in a longer format. Some of these strengths include excellent world-building.

I loved the idea of flipping the entire “dragon rider” concept on its head. This is a hugely popular trope in SFF fiction, and, while enjoyable, myself and many other fans are often left scratching our heads when reading about some of these partnerships. Why, oh why, are the humans the more powerful members of these societies when so often the dragons are described as having more powerful magic, greater physical abilities (obviously), and often a much higher general IQ than their human compatriots. So I loved the what Lyons did here by flipping this relationship around to show a society where the dragons, not the humans, are the more dominant members of this society.

I also liked the expanse of this world and that we travelled to numerous locations throughout the story. Yes, this could also feel like a bit much at times, especially given that it was all packed into one, stand-alone book, but it was also incredibly interesting and made the world feel lived in and worth exploring to discover what else might be in store.

Where things began to fall apart was with the characters, and the problems were twofold. First, there were simply too many of them. As I read on, there seemed to be more and more characters added to the list well-past the point of reason. This increase in characters also resulted in a love triangle quickly rearing its head. The story took a different tact here, shifting the traditional love triangle into a polycule as the story went on, but as I’m not personally a fan of polycule romances, this sadly wasn’t an improvement. The characters all quickly began to fall flat as well, each seeming to only be defined by one or two overall traits with little other characterization to be found, either in the beginning or as the story progressed. I also felt no chemistry between any members of the romance, which really put the nail in that coffin for me. At times, some of these interactions were downright cringe-y.

That said, there was potential to be found here, even in these fairly stale characters. Again, given a longer book or a series, perhaps the author could have built out these characters better, helping them feel as full and realized as the world itself. So, while I didn’t love this book, I’m still very intrigued to check out the author’s other work. If you’re a fantasy reader who enjoys polycule romances, this might be one to add to the list! But I do think it fell a bit flat, overall.

Rating 7: A lot of potential to be found, but weak character ultimately let this one down.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Sky on Fire” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2024 SFF Books with Female Leads or Co-Leads.