Tag: Fantasy

Kate’s Review: “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus”

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Book: “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” by Stephen Graham Jones & Davide Gianfelice (Ill.)

Publishing Info: IDW, September 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC23

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

Book Description: The year is 2112, and it’s the apocalypse exactly as rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of Indigenous outcasts who have discovered a time travel portal in a cave in the desert and figured out where everything took a turn for the worst: America.

Convinced that the only way to save the world is to rewrite its past, they send one of their own—a reluctant linguist named Tad—on a bloody, one-way mission to 1492 to kill Christopher Columbus before he reaches the so-called New World. But there are steep costs to disrupting the timeline, and taking down an icon isn’t an easy task for an academic with no tactical training and only a wavering moral compass to guide him. As the horror of the task ahead unfolds and Tad’s commitment is tested, his actions could trigger a devastating new fate for his friends and the future.

Join Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice for Earthdivers, Vol. 1, the beginning of an unforgettable ongoing sci-fi slasher spanning centuries of America’s Colonial past to explore the staggering forces of history and the individual choices we make to survive it.

Review: Thank you to IDW comics for giving me an ARC of this book, and thank you to Stephen Graham Jones for being SO kind when you signed it!

Back when I had just gotten back from ALA, people were asking me what my highlights were. And one of them was meeting Stephen Graham Jones at a signing at the IDW booth. I was already ecstatic when I saw that he was going to be there, and even more excited when I realized that he was signing ARCs of the first volume of his series “Earthdivers”, a fantasy/speculative fiction/historical fiction series about Indigenous people on a dying earth using a time travel portal to send one of their own back in time to stop America from happening (as America is seen as the main driver of the climate change disaster). I had been eager for this first volume, and getting it WHILE MEETING HIM (and having a lovely conversation!) was just the very best. And “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” is everything I had hoped it would be.

The concept alone is so unique and also so, so bold. I mean, it takes serious spunk to frame a story about the assassination of a man that is still, in a number of places, celebrated every year as the supposed ‘discoverer of America’, but whose horrific crimes and direct and indirect actions towards the Indigenous peoples on this continent are impossible to ignore. Even I was like ‘whoa’ when I read the premise of the comic book, but the rage is earned, and it is palpable on the pages as Tad, the man chosen to go back in time and assassinate Columbus, has to take on a mission with high and dangerous stakes. And low odds of success. I loved seeing Tad grapple with the fact he will never see his wife again, that he has to do things that he never thought he could do, and also really enjoyed seeing him slowly start to accept his mission and the bloody business that goes with it. Jones depicts the brutality of life on the ship, whether it’s the dire conditions or the hierarchy that lends itself to violence, and also shows the less acknowledged aspects of the voyage the ships are on (specifically the religious zeal that Columbus has). I also found the tension building and building and building as Tad realizes that his chances to kill Columbus and stop that version of America from happening are slipping through his fingers, and that if he fails, it was all for nothing, and it could mean the end of humankind. The tension is rife, the violence is visceral, and the anger and desperation is well depicted.

But I also liked the ways that Jones depicts the others back on Earth in 2112, as the world is dying due to climate change and they are becoming all the more desperate, especially when they realize that the time portal in the cave may have more dangers than realized. I really liked Sosh, Tad’s wife who is in an uneasy partnership with Yellow Kid, the member of the group who came up with the idea, but has been a little shifty as far as Sosh is concerned. I liked the moral ambiguity that Jones gives a number of his characters, as it raises very difficult questions about the lengths that these characters are willing to go to make this mission a success. And along with that, I really enjoyed how the time travel themes didn’t feel like super hard Sci Fi, and more like fantastical or speculative based in the system in place. We don’t really know what the deal is with this cave, but I have a feeling things are going to be explored as the series goes on.

And I really liked the artwork. I like the use of color and the angles that Davide Gianfelice brings to the page, and I loved the detailed character designs for our main players.

(source: IDW)

What a fantastic start to what is sure to be a fantastic series! “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” is another shining star from Stephen Graham Jones. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Rating 9: Unapologetic, daring, dark, but hopeful, “Earthdivers: Kill Columbus” is a must read in speculative fiction with a visceral message and lots of what ifs.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Graphic Novels & Comics by The Aboriginal, Indigenous, and Native Peoples of the World”, and “Best Time Travel Fiction”.

Serena’s Review: “A Study in Drowning”

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Book: “A Study in Drowning” by Ava Reed

Publishing Info: HarperTeen, September 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad – author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at Llyr’s prestigious architecture college. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to design the late author’s house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them – and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Review: First off, what a fantastic cover! I think this one is my favorite of the year, so far. It sets the tone for the novel and is just interesting in its own right, with little details that pop out the longer you look at it. Other than that, this book was an obvious choice to read this month. I struggled a bit with Reid’s most recent book, but I really enjoyed her first. And even in the more recent one, my struggles came down to some personal preferences, as her writing and world-building is beyond reproach, as far as I’m concerned. And man, am I glad I got to this one! This is now my favorite book by this author, overtaking “The Wolf and the Woodsman.”

Per the usual for Reid at this point, she tackles some dark, complicated themes in this book. Specifically, this one deals with the challenges that women historically have faced when daring to venture into realms previously dominated by men. After being denied entrance to the most prestigious, and her preferred, college, Effy must settle for being the only woman in the second, lesser choice. Her experience goes wrong from the very start, and while the majority of this book doesn’t take place at the college itself, her inner journey is largely based around the events that occurred there.

But beyond real world dangers, Effy’s life has been one of constant vigilance against the dark beings that haunt her, beings that she believes are signs of her own mental weakening. This book is promoted as a gothic fantasy, and I can’t think of a better example of the subgenre. You can feel the atmosphere dripping from the pages, with descriptions of crumbling staircases, flooded basements, and a landscape that is unsteady beneath the feet. The side characters only add to this pervasive sense of building doom. The man who runs the house is mercurial and cryptic, his family history full of cobwebs and deceptions. And their are other beings, lurking around corners, with Effy never quite sure how much is real and how much is in her head.

The book is also marketed as an academic rival romance, which I think is less on point. Effy and Preston are rivals for a hot second before quickly coming to a mutually beneficial agreement of cooperation. And, really, I don’t have a problem with that in this case. There are so many other mysteries on hand that I was happy to see the romance play out in a fairly straightforward manner. Effy has enough on her plate without long bouts of snark and delayed understanding between the two. Instead, their romance follows a slow, steady progression, serving as a solid backbone to all of the uncertainty around them.

There is clearly a lot of thought that has went into building this world. Effy and Preston’s nations are at war, there is a religious system built up around folklore and the deification of great artists, there’s a tragic history of large swaths of the countryside suddenly being swallowed by the sea. While I liked all of it in its own right, I was left wanting a bit more from all of these arenas, at the same time. I’m not quite sure what purpose was served by the nations at war, as this never plays into the story in any meaningful way? And while the religion and folklore received more attention, I was still left with some questions by the end.

However, wanting more is probably one of the best problems to have with a book! As I said above, this book is all about the atmosphere. Effy and Preston are good characters, but now after reading three books by this author, I think I can say that the strengths of her writing lie more with her world-building and dark fantasy elements. Fans of gothic fantasy should definitely check this one out!

Rating 9: Reid presents a master class on how to write a gothic fantasy, delivering a story where the sense of place is just as much a character as any of the human (or not!) variety.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Study in Drowning” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2023 Dark Academia Releases and 2023 Gothic.

Serena’s Review: “Witch of Wild Things”

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Book: “Witch of Wild Things” by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Publishing Info: Berkley, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.

Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.

What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.

With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.

Review: Cozy fantasy is a term that I both am a bit skeptical of (it seems like another way of differentiating “serious” SFF from “that woman stuff” which I don’t think benefits anyone) and a subgenre that I’ve struggled to enjoy. But I do like romances and I do like sister drama and I do like low-level family magic, so I thought this one was definitely worth a shot. However, in the end, I don’t think this is the best example of any of these themes.

But I’ll start with what I did like. For the most part, the main character was a good lead. I enjoyed her voice, and in particular, her relationships with a few of the women in her life were very interesting and explored a level of complexity that I hadn’t expected. For example, Sage has a close friend who has a struggling marriage, and I appreciated the care that went into the balancing act that is supporting a friend in this situation where, to an outsider, the problem and solution seems easy, but to the friend whose life is in the balance, things are much more complicated. I also really appreciated the exploration of Sage’s relationship with the woman who took over the care of Sage and her sisters when they were young. There were some very nice points about grief and the burdens we can place on those around us when caught up in devastating positions. But, even here, there were moments where the depiction of this relationship took a bit of jarring turn towards the simplistic, with Sage taking on a rather “perfect victim” persona that left me wanting.

And this speaks to many of my problems with the other relationships in this books. Many of the characters, including Sage herself at times, came across as simple and without any real depth of character. The romantic hero is the most bland example of handsome perfection that I’ve come across in a long time. Pick out some romance hero tropes, and he checks them all of neatly, right in a row. And then the relationship between Sage and her angry younger sister, Teal, verged on the ridiculous at times, with Teal coming across as an unbelievable caricature of irrational anger.

Beyond this, I struggled with the overall tone of the novel. At times, Sage definitely took on a more YA sounding voice, testing my ability to believe her to be a 29 year old woman who has actually lived in the world. This isn’t helped by the inclusion of some truly cringe-worthy AOL conversations from her teenage years. And, unfortunately, these blasts from the internet-past can’t be simply skipped as they are key to understanding the unfolding relationship between Tenn and Sage in the present day.

There were bits and pieces of the story that I liked, which did help me get through it. But I often found myself struggling to really invest in any of these characters or care about the romance at the heart of it. I do think there are readers who will enjoy this, but I think the biggest failure lies with its inability to depict adult characters who…well…behave and think like adults.

Rating 6: Not for me, though I do think the depictions of the beautiful location and some of the lyrical moments had merit.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Witch of Wild Things” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Mushrooms, Toadstools, Fungus and The Witches.

Book Club Review: “The Wee Free Men”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Our current theme is song inspirations, where we were given a random song from a random genre and had to pick a book based on the song.  For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “The Wee Free Men” by Terry Pratchett

Publishing Info: Doubleday, May 2003

Where Did We Get This Book: The library!

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

Song Inspiration: “Fairies Wear Boots” by Black Sabbath

Book Description: Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk’s local Nac Mac Feegle – aka the Wee Free Men – a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds – black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors – before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone…

In a riveting narrative that is equal parts suspense and humor, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett returns to his internationally popular Discworld with a breathtaking tale certain to leave fans, new and old, enthralled.

Kate’s Thoughts

We all know full well by now that I am not the biggest fantasy fan, genre wise. It just usually doesn’t hit for me, so I came into this rendition of book club with not a lot of experience with Terry Pratchett. I have read “Good Omens”, the super fun novel he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman, but I haven’t read any of his “Discworld” series. I did, however, love the humor and cheekiness of “Good Omens”, so I was excited to have a chance to see Practchett on his own. “The Wee Free Men” was my second experience with him, and I found his voice absolutely delightful.

“The Wee Free Men” is part witch tale, part coming of age, part humor filled romp. There were multiple laugh out loud moments for me, with Pratchett just excelling in quippy moments and dialogue that cracked me up while also having genuinely heartwarming beats about family and growing up. I liked Tiffany and I liked her journey of learning about her role as a witch (a role that has been in her family, whether overtly known or not), and while there were still fantasy pitfalls that I don’t connect with as much, it wasn’t so overwrought that I lost interest. I liked the mythos involving the Wee Free Men, the fairies, and other mystical beings that show up (I was cackling when there was mention of Headless Horsemen, so many fun references to other fantasy tales!) to shine or cause trouble. But I alsoliked watching Tiffany have to overcome obstacles in hopes of finding her younger brother and saving him from a cruel queen. And oh man, the Wee Free Men. How feisty and how charming!

“The Wee Free Men” is a goofy and delightful fantasy story from Terry Pratchett, an author who is deeply missed in the genre. I could see myself reading more “Discworld” due to his voice and whimsy. It’s a fun book.

Serena’s Thoughts

As much as I am the fantasy reader for this blog, I, too, am not overly familiar with Terry Pratchett’s work. I’ve read a few stand-alone books here and there, but, like Kate, I haven’t read any of the books in his famous “Discworld” series. Honestly, I’m kind of intimidated by the entire idea! But if this book is any indication, I should definitely check it out.

In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Catherynne M. Valente’s “Fairlyand” series. Not only did Tiffany’s straight-forward approach to courage and adaptability to the strangeness around her remind me of September, but the overall tone of the story was very similar. There was a whimsical style to the storytelling that is very engaging. And the laugh-out-loud witty moments were often paralleled neatly beside incredibly insightful reflections on human nature and relationships. Like Kate mentioned, there are also a lot of fun references and Easter Egg like nods to various other fantasy elements and tropes. It’s the kind of story that, tonally, can read like it’s meant for a younger audience, but then when you really dive in, many of the jokes and quips depend on the deeper well of knowledge present in adults.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was, quite simply, a fun time. And the type of fun where the book almost tricks you into missing the fact that it actually has a lot of deeper thoughts to convey.

Kate’s Rating 7: A cute and at times poignant fantasy tale from a cheeky author who is greatly missed, “The Wee Free Men” is funny and endearing.

Serena’s Rating 8: Fun and creative, this book will likely appeal to fantasy readers who enjoy the absurd but reflective nature of authors like Catherynne M. Valente and her ilk.

Book Club Questions

  1. Have you read any other Discworld books before this one? If so, as it’s a Young Adult targeted novel, how does it compare to the other books in the series?
  2. What did you think of the mythology that Pratchett created for this story? Did you like certain characters or beings more than others?
  3. Terry Pratchett is known for being a big tongue in cheek with his fantasy stories Do you like the tone that he used for this book?
  4. What did you think of Tiffany’s journey in the novel?
  5. Did you catch any homages or tributes to other fantasy stories in this book?
  6. What did you think of the description of Fairyland?
  7. Do you think you would read any more Tiffany Aching books? Any other Discworld books?

Reader’s Advisory

“The Wee Free Men” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Heroine in a Fantasy Book”, and “Wise Women, Witches, Midwives, Healers, and Strong Girls”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Snapdragon” by Kat Leyh

Serena’s Review: “Together We Rot”

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Book: “Together We Rot” by Skyla Arndt

Publishing Info: Viking Books for Young Readers, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Wil Greene’s mom has been missing for over a year, and the police are ready to call the case closed–they claim she skipped town and you can’t find a woman who wants to disappear. But she knows her mom wouldn’t just leave…and she knows the family of her former best friend, Elwood Clarke, has something to do with it.

Elwood has been counting down the days until his 18th birthday–in dread. It marks leaving school and joining his pastor father in dedicating his life to their congregation, the Garden of Adam. But when he comes home after one night of after a final goodbye with his friends, already self-flagellating for the sins of drinking and disobeying his father, he discovers his path is not as virtuous as he thought. He’s not his father’s successor, but his sacrifice. For the woods he’s grown up with are thirsty, and must be paid in blood.

Now on the run from a family that wants him dead, he turns to the only one who will believe him: Wil. Together, they form a reluctant partnership; she’ll help him hide if he helps her find evidence that his family killed her mother. But in the end they dig up more secrets than they bargained for, unraveling decades of dark cult dealings in their town, led by the Clarke family.

And there’s a reason they need Elwood’s blood for their satanic rituals. Something inhuman is growing inside of him. Everywhere he goes, the plants come alive and the forest calls to him, and Wil isn’t sure if she can save the boy she can’t help but love.

Review: This is definitely one of those books that crosses genres between what Kate and I both like to read. She, of course, would be drawn by the creepy nature of the story, especially the focus on the dark cult. While I like the paranormal aspect of it, and the spooky, haunted forest that sounds right out of the best kinds of fairytales. I think I can safely say that we both liked the cover. Through some snooping on Kate’s personal Goodreads, she also read this book and liked it, overall. For me, it was a bit more hit and miss.

But let’s start with what did work. And the first thing that comes to mind is the atmospheric nature of the story. As I said, I was partially drawn in by the mention of a cursed woods, and man, that cursed woods really hits well. Not only do large chunks of the story take place in the woods themselves, but the author has a real talent for evocative writing, making the trees themselves come alive. This same skillful writing also very much works with the more creepy aspects of the story. There were definitely some scenes and descriptions that were truly horrific, but some of these same scenes were also rather beautiful? While others were simply gruesome. Either way, the author’s writing style definitely leant itself to these more descriptive, lyrical moments of the story.

I struggled more with the pacing and the characterization of the two main POV characters, and, to lesser extents, the side characters. Both of these quibbles come down to the same thing, I think: this is an incredibly short book. On one hand, I always want to applaud authors who don’t feel the need to write massive tomes. But on the other hand, there is also a point where a book can suffer for its brevity, and that’s the case here. While Wil and Elwood had the makings of excellent characters, there simply wasn’t enough time in the book to really flesh each of them out, let alone the complicated nature of their relationship. For all that we are told that they used to be close, they had a fight, and then this book sees them coming together again, the reader is never truly given enough of this history to invest in this changing relationship. Instead, where there was room for a lot of depth of feeling and growth, we are left with a story that goes from “enemies” to “lovers” in the blink of an eye, undermining the supposed seriousness of their original falling out.

The same problem shows up in the overall pacing of the story. Because the book is so short, the reader is jumping from one scene to the next quite quickly. The entire story also only takes place over a few days, adding to this rather frenetic reading experience. While I think books that tell a story that plays out in a short time span can work, they still rely on enough substance to be woven in to allow the reader to fully invest in the characters and the situations they are experiencing. And unfortunately, some of that greater substance was lacking.

Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential, and even fifty or so more pages added on could have bounced this up to an 8 rating for me. As it stands, I think the author has a real skill for lyrical, evocative storytelling, so I’m definitely interested to see what she does next! Fans of contemporary paranormal horror will likely enjoy this one, but go in more for the creepy forest and religious cult than for the characters.

Rating 7: A sure hand on the lyrical style of her writing, I simply wish Ardnt had allowed us more of it than what we got here in this shorter, paranormal horror story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Together We Rot” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Folk Horror and Moody stories about small towns with secrets and magic.

Serena’s Review: “Godkiller”

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Book: “Godkiller” by Hannah Kaner

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run.

Elogast fought in the god war, and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A mysterious request from the King sends him racing back to the city he destroyed.

On the way he meets a godkiller, a little girl and a littler god, who cannot find out about his quest.

Review: I was drawn in by the fantastic cover art for this novel, but I stayed for the book description of a young woman whose mission in life is hunting down gods. I’m always a sucker for fantasy novels that deal with wars with gods as I think the themes of religion and fantasy play so well together, each dealing with belief and how that shapes an individual, for good and bad. And this one definitely lived up to my expectations!

While the above book description mentions both Kissen and Elogast, I still went into it with the expectation that this was a single POV story, probably because the title implies that the godkiller, Kissen, would be the main character. And, while I would argue that she still is, the story is in fact not only a dual POV between Kissen and Elogast, but also includes the young girl, Inara, and, surprisingly, the god Skedi as well!

And while Skedi by far has the fewest chapters, I do think his inclusion was integral to the success behind the general premise of this story. The prologue and Kissen’s story set up one clear narrative with regards to gods: they are dangerous and bring only harm to those around them. But Elogast’s history and perspective, and Skedi’s very existence, complicate this narrative. What’s more, Skedi is not a perfect rebuttal, being a very flawed individual in his own right. Instead, his POV serves to highlight the chaotic nature of the gods in this world and to blow wide the discussion regarding inherent nature and how that plays into the ways we regard those around us.

I also really enjoyed the relationships that are built up in this story between all of the different characters. Yes, there is the slow-burn romance between Kissen and Elogast, always a winning feature for me who enjoys a love story included in my fantasy. But all of the characters had nuanced and interesting relationships between them as well! Kissen and Inara, with Kissen’s long-standing dislike of children being slowly worn down in the face of Inara’s strength and persistence. Between Inara and Skedi, we see a long-standing friendship tested with betrayal and misunderstanding. Between Skedi and Kissen, we see how immediate distrust and bias can push people (and gods!) into harming those around them and betraying their own most basic moral baselines. For his part, Elogast’s relationships to all of these characters was the most straight-forward. But I think his more steady character type served as a necessary foundation upon which to anchor much of the chaos created by those around him.

I will say, however, that my one big quibble came down to the geography of this world. This is such a weird, obsessive point that I know many people won’t even care about, but for me, I kept hyper fixating on it throughout the book. The story includes a map in the beginning (yay maps!) and it lays out one of the major cities as across a large body of water from the rest of the world. And then much of the story itself it taken up with the characters travelling to this city. And yet, it seemed like they travelled completely by land, were able to spot the city from quite a distance across land, and generally never acknowledged the layout of the map. I could very well have been missing something, but throughout the book, I kept getting confused about their actual route and looking at the map and just being even more confused. I did read an ARC, so maybe the artwork or these references weren’t finalized (though the word “references” underplays how much the geography plays into the main storyline). Weird quibble, but I couldn’t complete my review without mentioning it as it did take up a serious amount of my reading time, flipping back and forth between the text and the map.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It felt refreshing in an often-crowded genre, while also relying on some tried and true character types. There were some legitimately surprising twists and turns towards the end of the novel that lay out an interesting path forward for the next book.

Rating 8: A deceptively simple premise belies the depths to be found in this fantastic fantasy debut tackling themes of religion, family, and what makes up one’s very nature.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Godkiller” isn’t on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Gods and Goddesses Books

Serena’s Review: “House of Marionne”

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Book: “House of Marionne” by J. Elle

Publishing Info: Razorbill, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: 17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins.

Until someone discovers her dark secret.

To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.

If caught, she will be killed.

But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and— assassin in training.

When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love.

Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.

Brimming with ballgowns and betrayal, magic and mystery, decadence and darkness, House of Marionne is perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters, irresistible romance, dark academia, and a deeply intoxicating and original world.

Review: Well, I’m predictable at least. If you give me a beautiful cover and mention the words “dark academia” in your book summary, there’s a decent change I’ll check out your book. Also, “Bridgerton” season three has been taking foreeeever to come out, so the reference to ball gowns and high society is a nice little perk to my current interests. Unfortunately, this was one of those cases where a lot of excellent individual ingredients were thrown into a single pot, but the end result was a mess.

But, first, some of the good individual ingredients. I liked the writing style, overall. It did fall a bit on the younger side of YA for my own personal preferences, but everything ran smoothly and I had a clear idea of the scenes we were exploring and the characters making up this world. It seems silly to point out, but whenever a writer manages to tell a story without throwing me out of the narrative with awkward word choices or jilted or repetitive sentence structure, that’s already a great win, and Elle manages all of that here. Overall, I was pretty into the book in the first little bit. I also like a lot of the ideas that make up this world, but this is also where things began to fall apart a bit.

Once we get to the magical world of it all, we quickly discover there are several different societies with different histories and priorities of magic. Luckily for me, I always check out the end of a book, author’s note, etc. before really starting a book, so I was able to discover an appendix with the histories of all of these houses. However, unless a reader also happened to look at the back of the book like I did here, the world-building given in the actual text is very confusing and sparse. The details provided in the appendix were sometimes key to understanding some of the politics of this world, and by hiding this information at the end of the book, it presents a challenging reading experience.

There were also aspects of the world and magic that seemed fairly arbitrary. For example, the women have these tiaras that are essentially part of their heads? And the men have masks? And somehow these are connected to their magical abilities? It’s all very obscure and never explained in any way. Instead, it’s easy to see the author simply picturing this world in this way, and then plopping it down in the book without much support for the entire concept. There were other aspects of the world and magic like this that, as I went a long, became increasingly frustrating to just roll with.

I also really struggled with Quell. Fairly early on, she comes across as a very unserious person who isn’t appreciating the reality of her situation. We’re told that her mom has had them on the run her entire life to protect Quell from those who would harm her for her strange magic. But then the second they are separated, Quell chooses to run straight to the very people her mother has been running from. It’s a bizarre choice, and one that isn’t well supported unless Quell is just a dunderhead. From there, she proceeds to become a Mary Sue, quickly conquering magical tasks that others have been struggling with for years at the school. The were some legitimate twists and interesting choices that Quell makes towards the end of the book, but these were too few, too late.

As is often the case, if I struggle with the main character, I also struggle with the romance. For what it’s worth, I didn’t actively dislike the romantic interest. He was perfectly fine for the type of character he was supposed to be. But my increasing frustration with Quell made my interest in the progression of this romance to wane fairly quickly. Again, there were some interesting turns towards the end in this regard as well. But also again, it wasn’t enough to save my overall reading experience.

Rating 6: A frustrating main character and confusing world left me feeling fairly turned off on this YA fantasy.

Reader’s Advisory:

“House of Marionne” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Releases September 2023 and Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2023

Serena’s Review: “The Phoenix King”

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Book: “The Phoenix King” by Aparna Verma

Publishing Info: Orbit, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: The Ravani kingdom was born of a prophecy, carved from unforgiving desert sands and ruled by the Ravence bloodline: those with the power to command the Eternal Fire.

Elena Aadya is the heir to the throne—and the only Ravence who cannot wield her family’s legendary magic. As her coronation approaches, she will do whatever it takes to prove herself a worthy successor to her revered father. But she doesn’t anticipate the arrival of Yassen Knight, the notorious assassin who now claims fealty to the throne. Elena’s father might trust Yassen to be a member of her royal guard, but she is certain he is hiding something. 

As the threat of war looms like a storm on the horizon, the two begin a dangerous dance of intrigue and betrayal. And the choices they make could burn down the world.

Review: This book was originally self-published as “The Boy With Fire” before it was picked up by Orbit to be traditionally published under this new title. As such, it already has a fairly devoted fan base who really loved it and, I’m sure, were very excited to get this new version of the book. For me, I hadn’t heard of the book originally, but was excited to check it out, not only due to the hype of previous fans, but because the synopsis sounds right up my alley. I obviously really loved “The Poppy Wars,” so any comparison there is a good sign. And then I was also intrigued by its connections to Hinduism and Indian mythology.

But, while the book overall did have positives, I found myself struggling to read it. Before I get into any of the negatives, I do want to talk about the aspects of the book that I appreciated. For one thing, the writing was very evocative and strong. This very much read as an author who has a firm grip on their own voice and style. The plot moves smoothly (if slowly) and the characterization is fairly solid. I also really liked the book’s depiction of religion and how it is explored throughout the story. While I don’t have a strong knowledge of Hinduism, I liked what we saw here with how it was applied to this fantasy world. As far as world-building goes, I also liked the general idea of mixing fantasy and sci-fi elements into one story.

However, while these all were strengths of the story, my actual experience of reading the book felt like a slog. I think a lot of this has to do with pacing. This book is not short and it takes a long time for any real action to begin. However, at the same time, some of the information is presented in a way that feels rushed or under-explained. The pacing wasn’t helped by the multiple POVs that make up the story. There are many challenges of writing a successful multi-POV novel. The one I’ve most often talked about is the difficulty of writing voices and characters that feel distinct from one another and who have enough of an arch to justify their own page time. But another challenge is the fact that switches in POV can disrupt the pace, and I think that was one of my struggles here.

My second real sticking point was with the characters. I feel like I’ve been running into this problem a lot with some of the recent adult fantasy novels I’ve read lately, but, again, the female POV character, Elena, read much closer to a YA heroine than an adult. Again, no shade on YA heroines, but if a book is billed as an adult fantasy, I expect the adult characters to be going through arcs and challenges that would be typical of that age group. Instead, we see a lot of naivety and a coming-of-age story from Elena, themes which are much more in line with a YA storyline.

For his part, Yassan was more interesting to me, but I did end up becoming quite frustrated with a reveal we get towards the end of the book. I won’t spoil what it was, but it was the kind of reveal that made the fact that we had been in Yassan’s head for large chunks of this book suddenly feel disingenuous. Yassan is not aware that he’s a character in a book and needs to hold back certain information for climatic purposes later in the story. It makes zero sense that he wouldn’t refer to these things in his own inner thoughts, so when it’s later revealed, it’s like a dash of cold water to the reader’s face, casting you out of the reading experience.

Similarly, I didn’t really buy the love story between these two. It wasn’t objectively bad, but I didn’t feel any chemistry between then, and was generally not very invested in their romance. Overall, this was a disappointing read. It definitely has strengths, and I’m sure it will resonate with some readers. Unfortunately, it just didn’t hit right for me.

Rating 7: While the writing is solid and I enjoyed the themes around religion, I struggled to connect with the characters in this one.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Phoenix King” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Indian Inspired Fantasy Books and South Asian Fantasy

Year of Sanderson: “Warbreaker”

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“Year of Sanderson” is an on-going, monthly series that will post on the last Friday of each month in which I will cover various Brandon Sanderson-related things. This will largely be comprised of book reviews (some from his back catalog and some from the books being released this year), as well as assorted other topics like reviews of the items in the swag boxes that will be coming out as part of Sanderson’s Kickstarted campaign. Frankly, we’ll just have to see what we get from this series, very much like the Kickstarter itself!

Book: “Warbreaker” by Brandon Sanderson

Publishing Info: Tor, June 2009

Where Did I Get this Book: own it!

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

Book Description: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.

Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker

Review: This is one of the few other standalone fantasy stories that I’ve read by Sanderson (he really hasn’t written many that aren’t parts of larger series). And as I’ve already covered the other, “Elantris,” I knew that I wanted to work this one into this review series. Like that book, it’s been rumored that there will be some sort of sequel to this book eventually, but there are also a few others the author has mentioned wanting to get through before he gets to those. But, being the crazy book-producing machine that he is, readers can feel fairly confident that the sequels will happen eventually.

That being the case, it was fun to go back and re-read this book. I’d only read it once before, but I had a pretty clear memory of what it was about. And most of that comes down to the fact that I absolutely loved this book when I read it the first time, and loved it just as much the second go-around! Honestly, this book checks off so many things in my personal favorites for fantasy stories that it’s not even funny. There are sisters. There is an arranged marriage/forced proximity romance. There’s an interesting magic system. There’s political maneuverings and upheaval. All good stuff, all good stuff.

The story is split between four POV characters, but like the first time I read it, it really felt as if the story lived and died based on the strengths of the two sisters, Vivenna and Suri. I love both of these women so much. They are so different from one another, and the entire book spends a lot of time challenging them on the aspects of their personalities that they thought were strengths and how their true strengths may lie in different arenas altogether. They each start the book with very clear understandings of themselves and the roles that they are expected to play, but by the end, they are both in wildly different positions than they ever would have expected. What’s more, while almost all of the narrative sees these two separated, throughout the course of the story, you feel them each grow to respect the other sister’s own particular strengths. Both of their arcs are very different, but equally fascinating.

As always, Sanderson also has a very unique, complex magic system built into this world he’s created. There are two kingdoms that had at one point been one. There’s an old and new religious system, with the new one made up of living gods who are mortals who die heroically and are then reborn as gods. And throughout it all is woven a system of magic that sees individuals having various levels of Breath, with it all tied to colors. The cover image of this book is not only beautiful in its own right, but perfectly illustrates the magic system at the core of this story.

Sanderson also likes to have mysterious characters who are operating on a different level in his stories. Here we have Lightsong, a god who is questioning everything around him, and the very unknown element, Vasher, who has his own agenda. While I preferred the sisters’ stories over these characters’ chapters, both Lightsong and Vasher added crucial depth to the goings on that make up the larger plot and mystery of this book. And when the reveals do come, there’s a clear bright line running throughout the story laying out clues to the ultimate resolution.

This an excellent, stand-alone fantasy read. It’s definitely satisfying to read as it is, but I’m also very curious to see where a sequel story would go. Probably still a few years wait on that one, but I’ll be at the front of the line to get my copy when it finally does release!

Rating 9: Complete with all of my favorite fantasy themes, “Warbreaker” is further proof that Sanderson doesn’t need an epic series to weave a fully-realized world and magic system.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Warbreaker” is on these Goodreads lists: “High Fantasy” with Female Leads / protoganists and, funnily enough, Arranged Marriages/Marriages Of Convenience.

Serena’s Review: “He Who Drowned the World”

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Book: “He Who Drowned the World” by Shelley Parker-Chan

Publishing Info: Tor Books, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: How much would you give to win the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.

But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.

Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history—and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him.

Previously Reviewed: “She Who Rides the Storm”

Review: This was one of my more anticipated reads for the summer, after very much enjoying the first book that came out last year. After the masterful showing that was ‘She Who Rides the Storm,” it was a pretty sure thing that this book would rise to a similar level. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for exactly how dark this book turned out to be.

Again, right from the start, it’s clear how much talent this author has. The characters are all fully fleshed out, flawed individuals whose motives and choices are as frustrating as they are realistic. The stakes are also often incredibly high, making some of these choices all the more tortuous to read about. Throughout it all, the descriptions and style aspects of the writing are solid and clear, sucking the reader in, even as they may wish they could step back a bit.

When researching a bit for this review, I saw that the author had written on Goodreads mentioning that she doesn’t consider this book grimdark. In the same note, she referred to “Game of Thrones” as grimdark, and one gets the sense that she was likely trying to differentiate her book from that one, a series that has been criticized by some for being overly graphic in its depictions of violence. Now, I understand trying to differentiate your own book, but I also don’t think that authors are the true arbitrators of what subgenre their own book falls within. Yes, this is her opinion, and no one can deny her that. But subgenres like grimdark exist for the readers, not the author. They are there to allow readers to have a broad understanding of what sort of book they are picking up. And, by any understanding of the term grimdark, this book is definitely that.

Without exaggeration, about 90% of this book is made up of horror after horror. The hopelessness and terror of these situations is pervasive throughout the book. And the descriptions being as crisp and vivid as they are, the reader will find no respite from looking right at all of these awful things unfolding before them. Honestly, this book checks off markers on the grimdark list in an almost aggressive manner. And this isn’t a negative thing! People do enjoy grimdark, and I can appreciate it as well. “The Poppy Wars” often fell into this category, and I loved the heck out of those books. But to try to deny that this is grimdark is honestly doing a disservice to readers and setting up unwitting readers to be unprepared for the type of story they are going to be reading. Even from the first book, this one is markedly more dark and difficult to read.

All of this to say, that my actual reading experience of this book would probably put it in the 7 range for rating. It was a hard book to get through, and I wasn’t fully in the right space to want to read something that was this dark for almost the entire read. But, I also recognize the overall quality of the book and writing, so I’ve bumped up my rating. Fans of the first book will likely enjoy this one. But, yes, this is, in fact, grimdark fantasy.

Rating 8: Brutal and relentless, the strengths of this book are also the parts that make it such a challenging, but worthwhile, story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“He Who Drowned the World” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Best Historical Fantasy and August 2023 Releases.