Tag: Young Adult

Serena’s Review: “Together We Rot”

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

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: “House of Marionne”

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

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

Kate’s Review: “The Reunion”

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

Book: “The Reunion” by Kit Frick

Publishing Info: Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Eleven Mayweathers went on vacation. Ten came home.

It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect.

The Peacekeeper: Addison needs a better hiding place. The Outsider: Theo just wants to mend fences. The Romantic: Natalia doesn’t want to talk about the past. The Hothead: Mason needs to keep his temper under control.

It started as a week in paradise meant to bring them together. But the Mayweathers are about to learn the hard way that family bonding can be deadly.

Review: Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Though I had never really prioritized my travel plans to include a visit to an all inclusive resort in Mexico, I found myself at one this past March when one of our high school friends got married near Puerta Vallarta. I ended up having a good time, outside of awkward chit chat with high school classmates I hadn’t seen for decades and a complete emotional meltdown during the reception due to being fully overwhelmed by EVERYTHING (which sent me to our room to sob it out before hitting the dance floor again, woooo!). But overall it was a very surreal experience, being a very controlled environment with so many amenities, all behind a wall with armed guards at the front. I was thinking a lot about this as I read “The Reunion” by Kit Frick; there’s a veneer that just doesn’t quite gel with the dramas of reality. And in the case of the book, things kind of go full “White Lotus”. Which I, of course, love.

Your enjoyment of this book is probably more guaranteed than your enjoyment of any White Lotus Resort given their, uh, histories… (source)

The story structure is told through first person POVs of the teenage members (and soon to be members) of the wealthy and privileged Mayweather family. We have Addison, a high strung people pleaser who is jumpier than usual. There’s Mason, Addison’s twin who is hotheaded and angry about his mother’s upcoming marriage. Then there’s Theo, the soon to be step sibling of Addison and Mason who is already on thin ice with Mason due to previous interactions. And Natalia, Mason and Addison’s cousin who is trying to have a good time and trying to avoid the twins due do some past unpleasantness. It means that everyone is a possible suspect, as well as a possible victim, as right off the bat we find out that someone at this engagement party between the parents of Theo and The Twins goes missing. I liked getting into the minds of all the teens, as they are all unreliable but also insightful in their own ways. Frick builds up the tension between all of them, with past grievances intermingling with in the moment stress, as well as misunderstandings that sometimes feel a bit farfetched and yet never tread towards wholly unbelievable due to momentary circumstances, or personal biases at play. She knows how to toy with the characters personalities based on their backgrounds, and to find depth and complexity in at least a few of them (mostly Addison and Theo; Addison is a perpetual people pleaser who is frantic to keep everyone happy and it is starting to wear at her, while Theo is NOT wealthy, does NOT relate to his future step siblings, and is very, very anxious surrounded by opulence he is not used to). I did find myself very invested in who was going to be revealed as the missing person, and if any of them were up to no good leading up to it. And actively dreading the answers to that for at least a few of the characters, which goes to show that Frick did a good job.

The mystery itself is also pretty well done. Frick goes at her own pace in laying out clues, whether it’s slowly revealing the details of the missing person or tossing breadcrumbs of info from each character perspective. We also get supplemental material in more epistolary forms, whether it’s guest information updates from the resort itself, or police transcripts as the investigation starts to ramp up and suspects start to be focused in on. Frick has a lot of well done hints as well as a lot of well placed red herrings, with so much well laid doubt and misdirection throughout that it really does make for some good twists and reveals when the moment is right. I was so caught up in the fast pace I mostly read this book in one sitting. Yeah, it was that hard to put down, which is exactly what I would want from a book that has been compared to “The White Lotus” (not just by me, mind you!).

“The Reunion” is a fast paced mystery that is the perfect read as summer comes to an end! If you have one more beach vacation in store Labor Day, this is the one to bring.

Rating 8: With well written first person perspectives and a suspenseful mystery, “The Reunion” is an engaging thriller from Kit Frick!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Reunion” is included on the Goodreads list “YA Summer Thrillers”.

Kate’s Review: “The Shadow Sister”

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

Book: “The Shadow Sister” by Lily Mead

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, June 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: Sutton going missing is the worst thing to happen to Casey, to their family. She’s trying to help find her sister, but Casey is furious. And she can’t tell anyone about their argument before Sutton disappeared. Everyone paints a picture of Sutton’s perfection: the popular cheerleader with an entourage of friends, a doting boyfriend, and a limitless future. But Sutton manipulated everyone around her, even stole an heirloom bracelet from Casey. People don’t look for missing Black girls–or half-Black girls–without believing there is an angel to be saved.

When Sutton reappears, Casey knows she should be relieved. Except Sutton isn’t the same. She remembers nothing about while she was gone—or anything from her old life, including how she made Casey miserable. There’s something unsettling about the way she wants to spend time with Casey, the way she hums and watches her goldfish swim for hours.

What happened to Sutton? The more Casey starts uncovering her sister’s secrets, the more questions she has. Did she really know her sister? Why is no one talking about the other girls who have gone missing in their area? And what will it take to uncover the truth?

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me an ARC of this novel and to Lily Meade for signing it!

Back in June, nearing the end of the second to last day at ALAAC23, I was dragging my bag of books et al around, waiting in line for a signing with Darcy Coates. Someone asked me if it was the Lily Meade line, and I, unaware, said ‘no’. But then I was informed that it was, as it was a dual signing, and I just thought to myself ‘ah, okay, bonus book, cool’. But when I was handed “The Shadow Sister”, Lily Meade’s debut thriller novel, the cover caught my eye. And then the description did as well. This bonus book seemed like it was going to not only be a fun additional book, but one that was squarely in my genre interests. When I did sit down to read it, I was hooked almost immediately.

I really enjoyed the narrative construction in this novel, told from present day Casey’s perspective and past Sutton’s perspective (which jumps around in time leading up to the moment she went missing). It allows us to get some insights into how the mystery is being built and pursued on Casey’s end as Sutton returns and isn’t acting like herself, while also giving us a different perspective that sheds light and changes the perceptions of the mystery as it unfolds. There is an eerie unease that builds as we know that SOMETHING isn’t right with Sutton, be it the trauma she endured and the fallout, or whether there is something else at work on top of that. The pacing works well as strange, but maybe(?) plausible things are happening, while Casey is convinced that this Sutton has something very, very wrong with her. And therein the reader also wonders what exactly it is. There are some genuinely well done surprises and twists in this story as well, some I didn’t see coming at all and landed perfectly. Meade carefully and deliberately lays out clues and misdirections and information throughout, things that you think could be significant towards one aspect of the story but then end up being significant towards another one, and it made for a lot of really fun, sometimes devastating, shocks.

But it’s the characters and the greater themes of intergenerational trauma and strife, as well as small town hypocrisy, and racism, that really makes for the really strong pillars of this book. We find out quickly that Sutton and Casey are from a biracial family, with their father’s side descended from enslaved people that has been meticulously mapped due to his personal interest and place in academia, as well as a robust passing down of family stories through the years. This family history is a crucial part of the story, partially because some of the sisterly strife between Sutton and Casey has to do with disagreements over a bracelet that was left by their now deceased grandmother, who was an inspiration and a woman whose stories connected them to their family’s past of tragedy and triumphs of living through slavery and finding reconciliation against the odds. There is also the greater themes of racism in America, as this small town community that feels and seems close knit, harbors a lot of jarring realities, namely the lack of awareness or urgency when Black girls go missing. Just to name a few.

“The Shadow Sister” is a stunning debut, and I am very much looking forward to whatever Lily Meade has in store next. Check this one out!

Rating 8: Tense, mysterious, and emotionally charged, “The Shadow Sister” is a thriller with a genre twist that explores intergenerational trauma, sisters, and small town secrets.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Shadow Sister” is included on the Goodreads lists “2023 YA Mysteries And Thrillers”, and “YA Horror 2023”.

Kate’s Review: “Night of the Living Queers”

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

Book: “Night of the Living Queers” by Shelly Page & Alex Brown (Eds.)

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, August 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC at ALAAC23.

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

Book Description: Night of the Living Queers is a YA horror anthology that explores a night when anything is possible exclusively featuring queer authors of color putting fresh spins on classic horror tropes and tales.

All Hallows’ Eve. Samhain. Dia De Los Muertos. Fiesta de Los Aguizotes. No matter its name or occasion, Halloween is more than a Hallmark holiday, it’s a symbol of transformation. NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS is a YA horror anthology that explores how Halloween can be more than just candies and frights, but a night where anything is possible. Each short story will be told through the lens of a different BIPOC teen and the Halloween night that changes their lives forever. Creative, creepy, and queer, this collection will bring fresh terror, heart, and humor to young adult literature.

Contributors include editors Alex Brown and Shelly Page, Kalynn Bayron, Ryan Douglass, Sara Farizan, Maya Gittelman, Kosoko Jackson, Em Liu, Vanessa Montalban, Ayida Shonibar, Tara Sim, Trang Thanh Tran, and Rebecca Kim Wells.

Review: Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me an ARC of this novel at ALAAC23 and to Alex Brown for signing it!

I am very much the kind of person who is like ‘It’s August? Halloween is going to be here soon!’. I love looking forward to my favorite holiday, and even though it’s still hotter than hell outside and people are still thinking of BBQs and the beach, I’m counting down the days until I can smell leaves and wood fire on the wind and seep up all the witchy spooky stuff of the season. So what better time to read “Night of the Living Queers”, a YA horror collection edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown, which showcases 13 stories by and about queer BIPOC people? This was one of the books on a Children’s/YA Horror panel I went to at ALAAC23 this summer, and I was lucky enough to hear Alex Brown talk about it, which hyped me up to read it. And once I dove in, I could tell that the hype was real.

As usual, I will talk about my three favorite stories in the collection, and then take on the collection as a whole.

“The Visitor” by Kalynn Bayron: A girl wants to make sure that she is home with her father on Halloween night, as they have their rituals and traditions they do every year. After being tailgated home by a mysterious car, she starts to feel like someone is watching her as she and her Dad wait out the night. This one took a huge swerve in ways that I didn’t anticipate, and it was done in such a well crafted way that I was taken by surprise, and totally thrilled by it. The slow building paranoia of someone maybe lurking outside the house was tense and unsettling, and then the swerve was perfectly executed. That’s about all I can say about it, just know I was impressed and creeped out.

“Nine Stops” by Trang Thanh Tran: A girl who is still mourning her grandmother’s recent death has retreated into the Internet, isolating herself from her loved ones and friends. After going out with friends on Halloween night and taking the subway, she finds a video of a woman talking about her own sister’s death, and begging people to watch all the way through, with deadly consequences if not. I think this was my favorite in the collection, as the dread ratchets up and up until it’s basically unbearable. I also liked the exploration of grief and how it can consume a person, and drive them to do desperate and perhaps horrific things in hopes of finding closure. This one really got under my skin. And who doesn’t love an Internet urban legend as a jumping off point for a horror tale?

“Hey There, Demons” by Tara Sim: When a teenage boy is left to babysit his half sister on Halloween night, he decides that it’s time to take on the poltergeist activity that has been occurring in their new house. But when the way to help take out the ghost is by helping a demon, he finds himself in for more than be bargained for… but perhaps in a more romantic way than he thinks. I did like that there were some cute and fluffy stories in this collection to go with the scares, and I loved this one as we meet somewhat anxious Noah and sassy and snarky demon Kody (a name that he adapts for his adventure with a perplexed human teen). The mythos is solid, the banter is adorable, and I really loved seeing this odd pair take on a poltergeist, as well as a teenage party. Just a hoot!

And as an entire collection, I mostly enjoyed “Night of the Living Queers”! I liked the way that they tied the stories together, with all of them happening on the same Halloween night under a Blue Moon, and how they were still able to do their own thing while having that connection. While some of the stories kind of fell into horror tropes that I don’t really care for (so many surprise ‘and then the ending is totally changed in one moment!’ gotchas), I did think that there were enough sub genres and tones that there is something for horror fans of all kinds. It’s also awesome having so many BIPOC and queer authors writing these stories with these perspectives feeding into the stories. Horror is becoming more diverse, but we still have a ways to go, and this book has a lot of authors who are establishing themselves as valuable voices to the genre. You love to see it.

Halloween is coming up fast, and “Night of the Living Queers” is going to be a must read for the nearing spooky season! Definitely check it out for Hallow’s Eve reading!

Rating 8: A solid and spooky collection of horror stories of all kinds, “Night of the Living Queers” is a varied and entertaining read from some established and up and coming YA horror authors.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Night of the Living Queers” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Queer Horror”, and “Great Reads for Halloween”.

Serena’s Review: “Bring Me Your Midnight”

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

Book: “Bring Me Your Midnight” by Rachel Griffin

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat.

Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help…until she meets Wolfe.

Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices dark magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his forbidden magic. A magic that makes her feel powerful. Alive.

As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance as well as her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.

Review: I haven’t read anything by this author yet, but I’m very familiar with the cool, witchy titles and covers of her books. I always eye them in the bookstore with appreciation. But as I don’t always gravitate towards contemporary fantasy, I haven’t actually gotten around to reading either of them. However, reading the description for this one, it sounded a lot like Adrienne Young’s “Spells for Forgetting” which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, however, this one didn’t reach those same highs.

Before getting into the parts of this book that ultimately left it as a bit of a disappointing read, I do want to focus on a few positive. For one thing, the cover art for this book is beautiful. Like the other books by this author, this one would definitely stand out on bookstore shelves. I also liked the overall concept of the book, with an island made up of witches who must expel their excess magic into the ocean to continue to exist peacefully with those around them. This idea is very interesting, and while the climate change points are not exactly subtle, that doesn’t take away from the overall impact of the set-up.

Unfortunately, as we saw so often in this book, things that should have been interesting would either not be fully explored or would peter out before the reader got to actually experience any conflict. We are told that the ocean currents around the island have become increasingly dangerous. However, other than a second-hand story from Tana’s childhood, we never actually see any dangers on the page. We’re simply told that it is so. Further, when this conflict is ultimately resolved, again, we don’t see anything of it. We are told it happens, and that is the end.

Again and again this sort of thing happened throughout the story. It was very much “telling” the reader how they should feel and what exactly was happening, but there was very little showing. Conflicts would show up throughout the story, but then, often in the same chapter, they were quickly wrapped up. Any attempts by the reader to build on stakes or feel any tension about what is coming next was almost immediately stamped down by a quick resolution.

I also struggled to picture exactly where and when this book took place. There were references to dresses and balls, but then the next moment would refer to a car driving by. It was very unclear what sort of society or world I was meant to be picturing. Is this a modern day story? Some point in the fairly recent past? For a story that is so centered around this unique community and rare, magical island, there was a distinct lack of descriptive prose. Yes, I would have enjoyed some more lyrical descriptions of this quaint town, but I also would have taken a basic description of what exactly I was supposed to be picturing at all.

Beyond this, Tana was a difficult character for me to connect to. She’s meant to be a twenty year old woman, but if I hadn’t been told this, I would very much have pegged her as a fifteen year old. Her voice is very juvenile, and her understanding of her place in the world and her choices was very passive to the point of fairly extreme naivety. At the same time, as her views were challenged, she quickly switched tack, seemingly with very little inner conflict at leaving behind lifetime-held beliefs. I also did not enjoy the romance in this story. It felt very insta-love like, and, again, I failed to connect to the characters or feel real stakes in their relationship.

This book didn’t work for me, which was too bad. I know the author is really popular, however, so if you enjoy more contemporary witchy stories, this may be for you. But if you’re looking for something with much depth, sadly I don’t think this is it.

Rating 6: Unlike the ocean with all of its mysterious depths, this one felt shallow and floundering.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bring Me Your Midnight” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Flower Faces and YA Releases August 2023.

Serena’s Review: “Brittle”

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

Book: “Brittle” by Beth Overmyer

Publishing Info: Flame Tree Press, August 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Bonesmith”

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

Book: “Bonesmith” by Nicki Pau Preto

Publishing Info: Margaret K. McElderry Books, July 2023

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

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

Book Description: Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Ready your blade. Defeat the undead.

In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked.

Determined to reclaim her family’s respect, Wren gets her chance when a House of Gold prince is kidnapped and taken beyond the Wall. To prove she has what it takes to be a valkyr, Wren vows to cross the Breach and rescue the prince. But to do so, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with one of the kidnappers—a fierce ironsmith called Julian from the exiled House of Iron, the very people who caused the Breach in the first place…and the House of Bone’s sworn enemy.

As they travel, Wren and Julian spend as much time fighting each other as they do the undead, but when they discover there’s more behind the kidnapping than either of them knew, they’ll need to work together to combat the real a dark alliance that is brewing between the living and the undead.

Review: While I haven’t yet gotten around to “Gideon the Ninth” (I knoooow, what’s my deal??), I have always loved fantasy books that deal with death/ghost magic and necromancy. Dark? Yes. But often that same darkness leads to a lot of delicious action and plot! “Sabriel” by Garth Nix was probably one of my first introductions to this particular subgenre of fantasy, and I’ve been a convert ever since! All of this to say, I knew the moment I saw the awesome cover for this one and read the description that this book would be right up my alley. And that it was!

So, I read and reviewed the first book in Preto’s first YA trilogy, “Crown of Feathers.” It…wasn’t my favorite. But I do love to discover that either an author has improved their style, or that the first go around was just a fluke disconnect in taste! Without having read the second two books in that trilogy, I can’t say whether I would have liked them more due to more confidence in the author’s style or what. What I can say, is that I absolutely loved this one and will be lining up for more as soon as possible!

This book had so many things that I liked. The world-building was interesting, with a history of magical “smithing” families who have different connections to substances like gold, iron, and, of course, bone. What’s more, their land is plagued by the fact that the dead will rise again if they are not put to rest by bone smiths. Such is our protagonist. Wren is everything I love in a heroine. She’s brave to the point of foolish, a bit selfish, but also has the skills to back up a lot of her talk. Naturally, her story is one of finding a balance between her more thoughtless tendencies to rush in without thought and the need to sometimes step back and wait. She also comes from a supremely dysfunctional family, and I loved the unravelling mysteries to be found in Wren’s past.

The pacing and plotting were also tight and fast-paced throughout the story. I picked it up and never wanted to put it down! There were some excellent action scenes, as well as some descriptions and perils that were verging on horror. I was able to guess a few of the twists, but there were also genuine surprises to be found in this story. What’s more, there were several moments where the story walked right up to a YA trope or pitfall, seemed to stare at it a bit, and then neatly sidestepped the issue that I was all geared up to hate. I love it when authors manage this!

I also really enjoyed the love interest and side characters. Julian was stoic, competent, and also had a lot to learn about his view of the world. More importantly, this author took advantage of a writing choice that I REALLY wish authors would utilize more often. The book is told from Wren’s perspective for 95% of the story. But sprinkled throughout, we have two or three chapters from Julian’s perspective, and even a few from the captured prince’s. Why don’t authors do this more often?? This choice was so much more effective than had the author tried to make this the ever-popular, and often unfortunate, alternating dual POV story. So rarely is there truly enough story to justify two equally balance POVs. Instead, you often have characters repeating things that were discussed or dealt with in the previous chapter. Or you have one compelling character who has a legitimate story arch and then….another character who’s just kind of there. Instead, Preto gave us a few needed glimpses behind the curtains that clued the reader (but not Wren) in on what was going on in the heads of both men, but didn’t cut into a story that was, at its heart, Wren’s own. It was a very restrained decision, and one that I think speaks very highly to the skills of the author to know what is (and isn’t) needed to make the story sing.

Overall, this was an excellent read. I had a blast reading it, and I think it has the sort of cross-over appeal that will make it great for both YA and adult fantasy fans!

Rating 9: Darkly brilliant, this story plops you down in a fantastical world chock full of wonder and horror. You probably wouldn’t want to live there, but man, it’s a blast to visit!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bonesmith” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on something like this list Popular Necromancy Books.

Book Club Review: “Music From Another World”

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

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: “Music From Another World” by Robin Talley

Publishing Info: Inkyard Press, March 2020

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate owns it; Serena got it from the library!

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

Song Inspiration: “Alternative Ulster” by Stiff Little Fingers

Book Description: A master of award-winning queer historical fiction, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley brings to life an emotionally captivating story about the lives of two teen girls living in an age when just being yourself was an incredible act of bravery.

It’s summer 1977 and closeted lesbian Tammy Larson can’t be herself anywhere. Not at her strict Christian high school, not at her conservative Orange County church and certainly not at home, where her ultrareligious aunt relentlessly organizes antigay political campaigns. Tammy’s only outlet is writing secret letters in her diary to gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk…until she’s matched with a real-life pen pal who changes everything.

Sharon Hawkins bonds with Tammy over punk music and carefully shared secrets, and soon their letters become the one place she can be honest. The rest of her life in San Francisco is full of lies. The kind she tells for others—like helping her gay brother hide the truth from their mom—and the kind she tells herself. But as antigay fervor in America reaches a frightening new pitch, Sharon and Tammy must rely on their long-distance friendship to discover their deeply personal truths, what they’ll stand for…and who they’ll rise against.

Kate’s Thoughts

Our newest Book Club theme is pretty unique, I think, in which we picked music genres out of a hat and then picking a random song from said genre. I was lucky in that I got punk, which is one of my favorite music genres, and then I got “Alternative Ulster” by Stiff Little Fingers, a Northern Irish band I had very limited knowledge of. But when I looked into the lyrics and it was about people dreaming of a better life and a better place where everyone can just live freely, my mind went to “Music From Another World” by Robin Talley, a book I bought in the early days of COVID but never read. It just seemed perfect given that it’s a book about two queer girls who are pen pals in the 1970s, who are contending with various laws that are threatening to make queer people targets of discrimination, hate, and violence. Sounds familiar, right? That’s the other reason I chose this book. And it just so happened punk music was also a theme!

(source)

Overall I really enjoyed “Music from Another World”, for a number of reasons. The first is that I liked the setting of late 1970s California, as this was a time that was pivotal in the gay rights movements of the 20th century, with Harvey Milk making history and making waves and LGBTQIA+ people pushing back against hateful legislation like Proposition 6 and other bills like it (all while said bills were being embraced and promoted by right wing bigots like Anita Bryant). Talley did a pretty good job of setting the scene, and showing protagonists Sharon and Tammy as they lean on punk music and each other through pen pal letters. The historical details were well presented and felt pretty easy to understand, and it breaks down this moment in ways that make it easy to connect to the current moment as LGBTQIA+ are being targeted again. I also liked the epistolary style of this book, told by letters and diary entries, but I know that such a style isn’t for everyone, as it can be a bit clunky at times (and is in this novel). I was able to forgive it because I like these kinds of found media/transcript plot devices, but also because I liked Tammy and Sharon slowly start to trust each other and develop a bond that neither were expecting. I also, as you can probably tell, really liked how this felt like a hopeful and earnest cry out to readers to not let discrimination and hate towards LGBTQIA+ people fester and take hold, and to push back. It’s hard to find hope in that regard these days. But like Harvey Milk said, ‘ya gotta give ’em hope’. And I fell like this book does that.

I enjoyed “Music from Another World”. It’s just the start of a new Book Club theme, and I have a feeling it’s going to be an interesting one!

Serena’s Thoughts

Overall, I liked this book, too, and agree with everything Kate said. I think the historical elements were particularly interesting and relevant to younger readers who may not be as familiar with this period in history, especially in the LGBT community. As Kate mentioned, there were some clearly intentional choices to focus on hope rather than despair, and I think that’s just always a really great message, regardless. This was especially noteworthy with the decisions made with regards to when and how to end the story.

I did struggle a bit with the style of the story. I’m a really hard sell the epistolary style in novels in general. I’m one of those annoying people who get fixated on details like “no one would EVER write out this much dialogue in a diary!!” So I did struggle to connect to the characters a bit. While I did like them, I think I felt so removed from their story due to the format of the story, that I never felt like I was really sucked into the story. I was too aware that I was reading the entire time to really enjoy this one, if that makes sense.

But I do think this book will appeal to a lot of readers and is a really unique way of telling this sort of story. It is very informative, while also reading as a sweet, teenage love story.

Kate’s Rating 8: A hopeful and far too relevant story about daring to be yourself and striving for a better reality, “Music From Another World” was enjoyable and inspiring.

Serena’s Rating 7: While I struggled with the format, I think this book will greatly appeal to a large swath of readers looking for a hopeful take on history and the present.

Book Club Questions

  1. What were your thoughts on the epistolary narrative device in this book? Did you feel like it worked?
  2. When Sharon visits the Castro with Peter, she notes that there are not many women at the protests, and that she feels like she doesn’t really belong. What do you think Talley was trying to say with this feeling of isolation?
  3. Talley opted to end the book with the failure of Prop 6, and didn’t go into the assassination of Harvey Milk by Dan White or the White Light Riots that happened after. With Milk being such a huge part of Tammy’s narrative, did you think ending before his death was a good narrative choice? Why or why not?
  4. Tammy and Sharon connected to each other at first because of their love of punk music. Have you ever connected with someone and bonded over a love of music?
  5. By the end of the book it’s a bit up in the air about Sharon and Peter’s relationship with their mother? Do you think that she will eventually accept her children as they are?
  6. This book came out in early 2020. What parallels do you see between this story and what is happening with American policy today?

Reader’s Advisory

“Music From Another World” is included on the Goodreads lists “Alex’s Sapphic Masterlist”, and “YA Set in the 1970s”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol” by Mallory O’Meara

Kate’s Review: “Harvest House”

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

Book: “Harvest House” by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Publishing Info: Candlewick Press, April 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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