Tag: Young Adult

Serena’s Review: “Hotel Magnifique”

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Book: “Hotel Magnifique” by Emily J. Taylor

Publishing Info: Razorbill, April 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

Review: Sometimes, it really doesn’t take much to lure readers in. And publishers know that! For example, look at the number of times something was compared to “Six of Crows” in YA fiction over the last few years? Unfortunately for book marketers, that particular tactic has backfired for me and now I tend to avoid books that are marketed with this tag like they’re the plague. But I still have a weak spot for my beloved “The Night Circus,” as do a lot of readers I think. So, well played marketers, well played. Luckily for me (and good for them!), this book actually deserves the comparison. It might not be on the same level of quality as “The Night Circus,” but it’s a solid comparison, especially for a YA audience.

Jani has been working hard to achieve one goal and one goal only: to return her sister and herself to their homeland which they left on impulse after their mother died. So when a magical hotel known for its exclusive and fantastical experiences appears in town and places a “help wanted” ad, Jani sees this as a welcome opportunity to not only secure employment but see the world at the same time. You see, this hotel skips from location to location every night, exposing its guests to sights barely imagined. But when Jani and her sister secure themselves a position, Jani begins to suspect there may be a darker side lingering beneath the feats of incredible magic. Now, with her sister trapped in a magical bargain, Jani teams up with the strange doorman to attempt to free them both from powerful forces that may have been at work in the world for much longer than she ever could have imagined.

So, I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I’ve been starting to think recently that I may have outgrown YA fantasy, having more often than not found myself not enjoying these books as much as their adult counterparts. But along came this book to prove that, while there were still elements here that are representative of some of the problems I have with YA fantasy, I can still enjoy this subgenre pretty thoroughly!

I think it started out with Jani herself. And her sister, of course. I obviously have a weak spot for sisters stories, and while Zosa is off page for large chunks of this story, she’s never far from Jani’s mind. Indeed, it is reinforced throughout the book that it is Jani’s determined love for her sister that makes her willing to challenge dangers that others have not dared to face. That love is such a strong force that the villainous elements behind the hotel have worked against love itself for decades. It’s a lovely message, and Jani’s strength and determination, even in the face of almost impossible challenges, makes her a great main character.

I also really liked the idea of the Hotel Magnifique itself. There was an interesting twist here with regards to the typical “outlawed magic” trope that one sees so much of. Here, while magic is considered too dangerous to exist in society, the world has found this one outlet: a magical hotel that contains all of the wonder, and danger, within its walls, allowing people to experience magic without worrying about it in their day-to-day life. There was also a very interesting history built up around how the Hotel came to exist and the stories behind those who work within it.

I do think the writing began to fail the concept a bit with some of the descriptions of these fantastical wonders. I couldn’t quite picture how a number of these things looked or worked. Obviously, it’s magic, so I don’t need the physics to work or anything like that. But there were several instances where I actually couldn’t picture how these things looked or how the guests of the hotel were able to interact with them. It got so distracting that by a certain point in the book, I started skim reading some of these descriptive passages. They weren’t overly important and since I couldn’t really understand what I was supposed to be picturing, it was better to just focus on the plot portions.

The love story was also hit and miss. Objectively, there was actually a lot to like about this. It wasn’t instalove by any means, so huge props just on that fact alone. And then I liked how, even well into the book, Bel and Jani are very much their own characters with their own motivations and lines in the sand. Their burgeoning feelings for each other don’t magically overrun the years of previous lived experience they both have had. But for some reason, I also was never super invested in this romance. Looking back, I think I’m fine with that, though, especially considering how nice it was to see a romance that was not all-consuming of its participants.

I also really liked the magical mystery and threat. I was able to predict a number of aspects here, but the story definitely managed to shock and surprise me at times. There were a number of instances where the story was a lot more dark than was I expecting. Again, I think some of the descriptive failings watered down the final confrontation scene a bit. But I was still mostly pleased with how it played out.

I think this was a pretty solid entry in YA fantasy. Like I said, while it’s no “The Night Circus,” there are definitely similarities, and I think this will be a hit with a lot of YA fantasy fans.

Rating 8: A bit weak in its descriptive qualities, but an inspiring main character and compelling magical mystery make it well worth a read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Hotel Magnifique” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Debuts in 2022 and Judging Books by Their Covers.

Kate’s Review: “Himawari House”


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Book: “Himawari House” by Harmony Becker

Publishing Info: First Second, November 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: Living in a new country is no walk in the park.

When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she meets Hyejung and Tina, two other girls who came to Japan to freely forge their own paths. The trio live together, share meals, and even attend the same Japanese-language school, which results in them becoming fast friends. But will they be able to hold one another up as life tests them with new loves, old heartbreaks, and the everyday challenges of being fish out of water?

Review: One of my big regrets from my youth is that I never did a study abroad program through school. My anxiety was too big of a hurdle to overcome, as was my mild separation anxiety from my loved ones when we’re apart for extended periods of time. So I like to read stories about people who take the leap, even if it makes me feel a certain sense of melancholy. So reading “Himawari House” by Harmony Becker was one of those books where I enjoyed seeing others do what I never did, even if their reasons and experiences would have been wholly different from my own had I taken the leap.

“Himawari House” follows three young women who are living in a house share in Japan. Nao is a Japanese born American who has come back to try to reconnect to her roots. Tina is from Singapore and was looking for a change. And Hyejung is from Korea and was looking for a new start. All of them end up at Himawari House as they do their schooling, and a strong friendship forms. We get to know each of them, as well as their growing pains, their motivations, their struggles, and their triumphs. While most of the focus is on Nao, Becker is sure to give a lot of page time to both Tina and Hyejung, and to explore how self discovery can span across cultures for young people. I loved seeing all of them get to know each other, and come to terms with the things that have happened in the past, and how they support each other through and through. There is a little bit of romance in this story for the three of them, but it never feels forced or unnecessary, nor does it feel like it takes focus off of their other threads.

I also liked some of the issues that Becker touched upon, specifically that of Nao who has been living in America for most of her life but was born in Japan. We see that because of her race and country of origin she never felt like she fit in in the U.S., as those around her saw her Japanese heritage first and foremost. But when she arrives in Japan, she is seen as an American first and foremost, and therefore she doesn’t feel like she really fits in anywhere when it comes to her greater cultural experiences. This made her found family in Himawari House all the more touching, and following her year with her new friends and loved ones is joyful, as well as bittersweet in some ways as the story moves forward. I also liked Hyejung’s backstory exploration, as being from Korea her experience was different from Nou’s, but had similar themes as well. For Hyejung her decision to go to Japan has put a rift between her and her parents, and seeing her struggle with missing them but also knowing that she may not be welcomed by them due to her decision is just heart-wrenching.

And I really loved the artwork. I’ve seen Becker’s artistry before, as she did the illustrations for George Takei’s graphic memoir “They Called Us Enemy”, and the style once again paired perfectly with the content, as different as it was from that previous work. I loved the influence of manga styles into the story during various moments of emotion, along with the more traditional and realistic artwork. I also REALLY liked how Becker did the speech bubbles, having both the language that the character is speaking in as well as the English translation in moments where that was what was going on.

(source: First Second)

I found “Himawari House” funny, relatable, joyful, and sweet. This tale of friendship and self discovery is a must read for graphic novel fans.

Rating 8: A charming and sweet coming of age tale about finding yourself as a stranger in a strange land.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Himawari House” isn’t included on many Goodreads lists, but I think it would fit in on “Let’s Japan!”.

Kate’s Review: “Very Bad People”


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Book: “Very Bad People” by Kit Frick

Publishing Info: Margaret K. McElderry Books, April 2022

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

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

Book Description: In this dark academia young adult thriller for fans of The Female of the Species and People Like Us, a teen girl’s search for answers about her mother’s mysterious death leads to a powerful secret society at her new boarding school—and a dangerous game of revenge that will leave her forever changed.

Six years ago, Calliope Bolan’s mother drove the family van into a lake with her three daughters inside. The girls escaped, but their mother drowned, and the truth behind the “accident” remains a mystery Calliope is determined to solve. Now sixteen, she transfers to Tipton Academy, the same elite boarding school her mother once attended. Tipton promises a peek into the past and a host of new opportunities—including a coveted invitation to join Haunt and Rail, an exclusive secret society that looms over campus like a legend. Calliope accepts, stepping into the exhilarating world of the “ghosts,” a society of revolutionaries fighting for social justice. But when Haunt and Rail commits to exposing a dangerous person on campus, it becomes clear that some ghosts define justice differently than others.

As the society’s tactics escalate, Calliope uncovers a possible link between Haunt and Rail and her mother’s deadly crash. Now, she must question what lengths the society might go to in order to see a victory—and if the secret behind her mother’s death could be buried here at Tipton.

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

I had some pretty grand plans for myself nearing the end of March. I secured a solo trip up to the North Shore, bringing a book stack and my Kindle and thinking that I’d spend my days in nature and my evenings reading… Well, my faith in good weather was foolhardy, as that first day it was snowing and the wind chill made the temperatures outside feel like it was 18 degrees. I don’t know why I didn’t consider that, being Minnesota and all. But it DID mean that I got a LOT of reading done, and when I sat down with Kit Frick’s newest book “Very Bad People”, I found myself tearing through my eARC. The pacing was great! The mysteries were appropriately engaging! We had a secret society with some potentially nefarious members! Spending all the time inside was turning out okay for me…. Until we once again hit the dreaded ‘and it all falls apart in the last third of the book’ situation.

As per my usual strategy, I’m going to start with what I liked. And the potential for this story just oozes off the page. It has so many things that work for me on paper. I love boarding school thrillers, I love people who get in over their heads in frog in the boiling water situations, and I love moral ambiguity and questions. I also really liked Calliope as our main character, as she felt rounded and real and like someone who would be completely into being included in a secret society like Haunt and Rail. I also liked the school history and history of the secret society as a whole. On top of that, it was so fast paced and engaging that I was eager to see what was going to happen next, and how the connection of Haunt and Rail across the generations was going to come into play.

But I just didn’t like how a couple of the big arcs shook out. Like, at all. And I’m not certain if it had to do with the structure and set up feeling unbalanced with the conclusions, or straight up personal preference on my part and my own sore spots and biases coloring my judgement. I’m half tempted to go on a rant here, but am also kind of not wanting to spoil anything because I think that people would probably do better with it than I did…. What the hell, let’s just go half and half and throw in a

Skip to the next paragraph if you so choose (source)

The book opens with a recounting of the tragedy that has haunted Calliope for a few years: the car accident that killed her mother and nearly killed her and her two sisters. There has always been question as to what happened, as Calliope was asleep, and her two sisters either couldn’t remember what happened or was two young to do so. Calliope sees a man in town during a trek from the Tipton grounds, has her memory jumped, and is convinced she saw him the day of the accident. She starts trying to piece together who he was, as well as his connection to her mother, AS WELL AS her mother’s connection to the Haunt and Rail Society, which leads to the supposedly accidental death of another student during her mother’s time in the club. Calliope starts to surmise that perhaps the Haunt and Rail members had something to do with the student’s death, and her mother’s death was actually someone trying to shut her up. It’s a great premise….. But it isn’t the case. What IS the case is that Calliope’s mother was ACTUALLY LEAVING HER HUSBAND FOR HER HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND AND TAKING THE KIDS WITH HER ON THE DAY OF THE CRASH. It’s all coincidence. And it’s awful. It immediately turned me off from the mother as a character who was, until that point, a formative and powerful drive for Calliope and her connection to the Haunt and Rail assholes. I get what Frick was trying to do, to say that some things are random and terrible (and it does have another connecting point, ultimately), but it left such a sour taste in my mouth. I don’t even think of myself as some kind of Puritanical scold, but once it was revealed how profoundly selfish the mother was being in wanting to uproot her kids from the life they knew with their father (with no indication that he’s a bad or even emotionally incompatible guy; HE SEEMS LIKE A REALLY GOOD LOVING GUY?), with NO actual exploration into her motivations outside of ‘oh, my high school boyfriend is back in my life and THAT’S EXCITING’, it wrecked that entire thread. Okay, I’m not going to elaborate further into the other reveals and twists and turns, but that was just too much. It derailed the emotional crux.

And then a lot of the other characters were frustrating and shrill in their characterizations, especially some of the Haunt and Rail members. It wasn’t even that their motivations and thoughts were things I disagreed with. I found myself quite sympathetic to the matter at hand, as a matter of fact! But I didn’t think that Frick did the due diligence to show enough complexity to their ‘arbiters of justice in their own minds’ themes until too far into the narrative. By then I had kind of stopped caring about their motivations and was more blinded by how their zealotry was damaging to those who didn’t deserve it, and I don’t think that it was properly grappled with.

Talk about running off the rails. There was so much promise with this book for the first two thirds. I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it too much because it could just be a ‘me’ thing.

Rating 5: Lots of built up momentum and promise ends with a couple of clunker reveals.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Very Bad People” is included on the Goodreads lists “2022 YA Mysteries and Thrillers”, and would fit in on “Academia, Magic, and Secret Societies”.

Kate’s Review: “My Dearest Darkest”


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Book: “My Dearest Darkest” by Kayla Cottingham

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, March 2022

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

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

Book Description: WILDER GIRLS meets THE CRAFT in this Sapphic horror debut that asks: What price would you be willing to pay to achieve your deepest desires?

Finch Chamberlin is the newest transfer student to the ultra-competitive Ulalume Academy… but she’s also not what she seems. Months before school started, Finch and her parents got into an accident that should have left her dead at the bottom of a river. But something monstrous, and ancient, and terrifying, wouldn’t let her drown. Finch doesn’t know why she woke up after her heart stopped, but since dying she’s felt a constant pull from the school and the surrounding town of Rainwater, like something on the island is calling to her.

Selena St. Clair sees right through Finch, and she knows something is seriously wrong with her. But despite Selena’s suspicion, she feels drawn to Finch and has a sinking feeling that from now on the two will be inexplicably linked to one another.

One night Finch, Selena, and her friends accidentally summon a carnivorous creature of immense power in the depths of the school. It promises to grant every desire the girls have kept locked away in their insecure hearts―beauty, power, adoration―in exchange for a price: human body parts. But as the cost of their wanting becomes more deadly, Finch and Selena must learn to work together to stop the horror they unleashed, before it consumes the entire island. 

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

As someone who loves horror as well as soapy academic settings, it’s probably not a big surprise that “My Dearest Darkest” by Kayla Cottingham grabbed by attention based on that summary alone. She also had me at the promise of a Sapphic romance with hints of “The Craft”, a film that I hold near and dear to my heart (and which will be referenced again soon on this blog…). I hopped into this horror novel with certain expectations, and while there were a couple stumbles here and there, there was a lot of potential and lot that was well executed.

I’m actually going against my usual process and will opt to start with the negative first, mostly because I feel like the positives are greater in the long run and I want to tackle them second. In terms of characterization, “My Dearest Darkest” is a little more on the weaker side than I was hoping for. I really liked misunderstood ‘bad’ girl Selena St. Clair, as her inner conflicts regarding toxic friendships, fear of rejection due to her bisexuality, and hardened spirit due to a traumatic event at the hands of someone she trusted makes for a complex character. She’s rough around the edges, but you also see just how big her heart is. Selena is the exception to the following critique. Everyone else is just kinda dull, from Selena’s mean girl friends to Finch, the new girl who has a strange connection to Nerosi, a strange being that has awakened on the school grounds who can grant favors to those who ask, if only for something in return. Finch has tragic background and a connection to a supernatural threat, but compared to Selena she fades a bit, falling back on meek characteristics we’ve seen many times before. I liked Selena and Finch as a burgeoning pair, but that, again, may have more to do with Selena. And don’t even get me started on various side characters, who are just there to provide exposition when convenient and little else.

But the horror elements. My GOSH the horror elements! Cottingham is not messing around here, bringing in multiple subgenres like body horror, Gothic horror, and Cosmic horror with some ghosties for good measure, and it all works really well. I wasn’t really sure of what to expect in this regard, as sometimes YA authors err on the side of caution and make horror moments a little less intense, hedging their bets in case there are readers who may need some restraint. Not this book. There were multiple moments where I was like ‘oh shit!’, from people pulling their teeth out, to descriptions of cosmic limbs in all their tentacled disgustingness, to a VERY creepy moment with a ghostly being that moved in jerky, uneven spurts. Which is totally one of the things in horror movies that really freaks me out.

It certainly didn’t help that I had just rewatched “Kairo”, the movie with this scene which nearly gave me a panic attack the first time I saw it. (source)

I also liked the Nerosi mythology and mystery, from an eight eyed stag familiar that brings nothing but trouble to an urban legend about a band that may be based in truth who disappeared years prior. At the end of the day, I pick up a horror novel because I want to be scared in some way, shape or form, and there isn’t any question that “My Dearest Darkest” was super creepy, with knowing nods to Lovecraftian ideas as well as the likes of “The Craft” and “Jennifer’s Body”. And what a glorious amalgamation it makes.

So while I thought that a lot of the characters were pretty cardboard in their execution, I really did like the horror elements, which elevated the book over all. I am very interested to see what Kayla Cottingham comes out with next, because their horror prowess is pretty solid!

Rating 7: While some of the characters felt a bit two dimensional and stiff, there was plenty of gnarly body and cosmic horror to make up for it!

Reader’s Advisory:

“My Dearest Darkest” is included on the Goodreads lists “Spooky Books with Bi Characters”, and “Queer Horror”.

Serena’s Review: “A Thousand Steps into Night”

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Book: “A Thousand Steps into Night” by Traci Chee

Publishing Info: Clarion Books, March 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again. But with her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she’ll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her… and perhaps never did.

Review: I’ve had really good luck recently with Asian fairytales (see: “The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea”). Not only have the stories been knock-outs, but the covers have been to die for! And this cover is right up there with the rest; just lovely. And while it didn’t quite hit the highs I was looking for, it was still a solid read and a definite recommendation for those looking for fairytale-like stories not based on Western myths or set in the West.

While Miuko has never fit into her small, dying village (too loud, too honest, too willing to push the limited boundaries given to women), she has resigned herself to life as an innkeeper’s daughter. Her father, at least, is loving if a bit bemused by his extraordinary daughter. However, when she comes across a demon one late night on the road who curses her to slowly turn into a demon herself, Miuko is forced to flee in search of a cure. On the way, she picks up a magpie shape-shifter friend and learns that she may not be the only one suffering a detrimental curse.

While this book wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be, it was still a fast, fun read. What stood out to me immediately when starting this book was just how funny it was! I wasn’t really expecting that at all, but the book had me laughing out loud at times. What was especially clever about these amusing aspects were that they were strewn across the story and characters, not simply restricted to dialogue, something you often see with authors who rely on their characters’ sarcasm to carry the comedy load. Instead, the narration itself was funny, and you would even find jokes imbedded in the footnotes.

Yes, footnotes. That was a very unique aspect of the story. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the style choice to include footnotes in an otherwise fairly straightforward fantasy story. But in the end, I think they really worked. For one thing, they allowed the author to use much more of the original language without worrying that readers were not picking up on important aspects of the story or nuances between concepts. Some readers may find them distracting, but for me, they worked very well. And, like I said before, the author was smart enough to continue her light-hearted tone even into these parts of the story.

I also really liked our main character, Muiko, and her pal, the magpie shapeshifter, Geiki. Muiko was immediately relatable, but it was really when Geiki came onto the scene that the characters fell into place for me. The two had a great rapport, and Geiki himself was the funniest part of the entire book. There’s no romance in this book (something that I always want to see, but that’s purely subjective). But I do think that these two and their friendship served as a solid stand-in for a romantic plotline. And it’s always good to see books that focus on different relationships as their central relationship, like friendships and sibling relations.

My main critiques of the story comes down to the pacing and some of the choices made in the middle of the book. It does take a bit for the story to get going, but I found that I was invested enough in Muiko to wait out this slow start. On the other hand, towards the middle of the book, the story started to feel a bit formulaic and predictable. Muiko and Geiki seem to go on a near-endless number of side quests essentially. Not only did these begin to add up, but the theme of them all began to feel a bit too predictable at times, with capital “L” lessons. I get that the society found in this book is very patriarchal and the author was looking to explore the various ways that women and others suffer under such a limited culture, most particularly in their very ability to live safely. But at a certain point, it began to feel like the author had a checklist that she was working through, so much so that the plot began to feel more like a device than an organic story that explored these concepts in a natural way.

Overall, however, I thought this was a really fun read. Even if I had a few critiques about it, it’s very likely that other fantasy fans will find it perfectly enjoyable as is. Honestly, the footnotes will probably be the biggest controversial item in the book, with some readers loving them and others hating them.

Rating 8: A fun, unique fantasy novel with an excellent leading character and one of the best side-kicks I’ve read in a while!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Thousand Steps into Night” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2022 Book Releases by Asian Authors

Serena’s Review: “Gallant”

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Book: “Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Publishing Info: Greenwillow Books, March 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

Review: Though some of her books have been a bit of a miss for me, V.E. Schwab is firmly on my “must read” list. Even those books that I didn’t love still always had superb writing and creative fantastical ideas. And then there’s the fact that these less liked books are far and away the more rare for me. Typically, I’ve really adored her writing and own several of her books outright. But when a book hasn’t hit for me, it’s typically come from her YA fare. So, while I was super excited to see a new book coming out, I was a bit more nervous than I typically would be when I saw that this was marketed as YA. Luckily, that wasn’t an issue here! Is that because I’d argue this might not be YA?

Olivia dreams of what every orphan child dreams of: a home and a family who want her. But at age 14, she’s well aware that all she has left in this world, truly, is her mother’s cryptic journal. So no one is more surprised than she when a letter suddenly arrives at her orphanage calling Olivia home to Gallant. But when she arrives, though she does discover family, she realizes that not only did her unwelcoming cousin Mathew not send the letter, but that he seems almost desperate for her to leave as soon as possible. When she stumbles into a shadowy world mirroring Gallant itself, she begins to suspect that there is more to the old house and her family’s history than she ever could have imagined.

This book was marketed as a Gothic “The Secret Garden,” and I can definitely see that all over this book. It’s also notable that V.E. Schwab is something of an old hand at penning these type of overlaying, mirrored worlds. This same concept is at the heart of her popular “Shades of Magic” trilogy, so it was fun seeing her return to that same fantasy element. But, true to her being a very talented author, she does so in a way that it is original and stands completely separate from that trilogy.

For one thing, I’d argue that this book is more Middle Grade than YA. The protagonist, Oliva, is definitely on the younger side of teenage-dom. And, not that all YA books require romance by any means, but the story itself is fully devoid of any love story, something that is rare in typical YA fantasy fare. The themes of the story, family, home, the understanding of choosing the way we move forward into a more adult world, are all of the sort that I think would appeal greatly to Middle Grade audiences. Some of the fantasy elements are a bit dark, but I’d think the average middle grader would be up for it.

Olivia was an excellent main character. She is a character who has grown up without the ability to communicate verbally. She can hear but must use sign language or writing to speak with those around her. It’s telling of Schwab’s abilities that she was able to write such a complex character and story while relying on minimal dialogue. Instead, she finds a variety of ways for Olivia to communicate. But while doing this, the author also explores the way that those without a voice can be easily silenced and dismissed, speaking to a power imbalance that many may not even be aware of.

I really liked Gallant and its shadow-world as well. The Gothic overtones were high, with secret passages, moldering rooms hinting of past grandeur slowly sinking into decrepitude, and haunted forms flitting in and out of rooms. The history of the house and Olivia’s family was also very interesting. I especially appreciated the use of a selection of abstract artwork that is sprinkled throughout the story to add another layer to the story unfolding on the page.

I did have to drop the rating down a bit by the time I got to the end, however. While the quality of the storytelling, world-building, and characterization were high throughout, by the time I finished the last page I was left with a sense of feeling a bit unmoored. When I think back on the book, I’m not sure I can see a real point to the story. That, and the fact that I feel like the ending didn’t so much conclude a story as re-set the board. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, honestly. But I feel like Schwab somehow missed the mark a bit here.

Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book. I definitely think it’s worth checking out for fans of Gothic fantasy. It’s also a great stand-alone story and one that doesn’t include a love story at its heart. I think it probably veers closer to Middle Grade than YA, but at a certain point that distinction blends to a point where both would likely enjoy it equally.

Rating 8: Splendidly creepy while also reflecting on deeper topics such as the choice involved in home and family.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Gallant” is on these Goodreads lists: 2022 Gothic and 2022 Anticipated Fiction Fantasy Reads.

Kate’s Review: “The Last Laugh”

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Book: “The Last Laugh” by Mindy McGinnis

Publishing Info: Katherine Tegen Books, March 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

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

Book Description: In the dark and stunning sequel to The Initial Insult, award-winning author Mindy McGinnis concludes this suspenseful YA duology as long-held family secrets finally come to light . . . changing Amontillado forevermore.

Tress Montor murdered Felicity Turnado—but she might not have to live with the guilt for long. With an infected arm held together by duct tape, the panther who clawed her open on the loose, and the whole town on the hunt for the lost homecoming queen, the odds are stacked against Tress. As her mind slides deeper into delirium, Tress is haunted by the growing sound of Felicity’s heartbeat pulsing from the “best friend” charm around her fevered neck.

Ribbit Usher has been a punchline his whole life—from his nickname to his latest turn as the unwitting star of a humiliating viral video. In the past he’s willingly played the fool, but now it’s time to fulfill his destiny. That means saving the girl, so that Felicity can take her place at his side and Ribbit can exact revenge on all who have done him wrong—which includes his cousin, Tress. Ribbit is held by a pact he made with his mother long ago, a pact that must be delivered upon in four days.

With time ticking down and an enemy she considers a friend lurking in the shadows, Tress’s grip on reality is failing. Can she keep both mind and body together long enough to finally find out what happened to her parents?

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

I’ve been awaiting “The Last Laugh” by Mindy McGinnis since the moment I finished “The Initial Insult”. If you recall, that novel took Edgar Allan Poe tales and turned them into a modern small town setting involving grudge and secret holding teenagers, and did it in a way that worked fairly well. It also ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, one that had my head spinning about where it could go next. I had some theories, and while I was on the money in some ways, in other ways “The Last Laugh” surprised me.

Somehow “The Last Laugh” was even darker than “The Initial Insult”, which is saying something given that the last book ended with a teenage girl being bricked up in a coal shaft and left to die (though in Tress’s defense, she had had a change of heart, but thought that Felicity had died before she could reverse her plan and just left her there… even though Felicity wasn’t actually dead yet. BLEAK!). We are now following Tress again as she deals with her guilt for Felicity’s demise, and we now have two new perspectives to engage with since Felicity is out of the picture and the Black Panther is free. The first is Ribbit, Tress’s cousin who was humiliated via an online video where his classmates got him drunk and filmed it. The second is Rue, the gentle orangutan at Tress’s grandpa’s animal sideshow, who adores Tress. Tress’s story goes the way you think it would: she’s severely injured due to the panther mauling her arm, and is feeling immense guilt. But Ribbit’s perspective was interesting. I knew that he had a part to play given his “Hop-Frog” analog, but getting into his mind shows sides to him that we couldn’t see before that reflect darker things going on not just in his life, but also the entire Usher/Allan/Montor Family Tree. I greatly enjoyed seeing how all of this would come together in terms of its own unique story, but also through the Edgar Allan Poe works that gave it direct inspirations. And the things that McGinnis reveals this time around were deeply, deeply unsettling, and presented in ways that made this book creepy as hell. And Rue’s perspectives were a bit more of a mixed bag, in that I got why we had the Panther in the first book, as the Panther plays a key role in that book in terms of the plot. In this, Rue’s role felt a little more shoehorned in, in that there needed to be symmetry with the poetry animal perspective, but ultimately wasn’t really needed. The thing that does happen (I’m being vague purposefully) didn’t really feel like it needed to happen. But I liked her affection for Tress.

This time around I didn’t feel as if we were as deluged with Poe references, and that was to the benefit of the story. I think that this is probably because so much was set up for this book in “The Initial Insult” that the references were already well established and could flourish a bit more. This time around the biggest influences were that of “The Tell Tale Heart”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and, as started in the previous book, “Hop-Frog”. But like with the last book, and I think even a little more son, McGinnis subverts the influences and themes and makes them fit a modern setting. A heart buried beneath a floor is now a friendship necklace. A cruel royal court is now less about monarchy and more about Homecoming. And there are far more metaphors at work rather than literal outcomes. It flowed better this time around, and that made for the follow through to be incredibly satisfying as a conclusion to a tale that was set up in the previous volume.

And the gore. OH THE GORE. While I felt that “The Initial Insult” was more akin to the psychological thrills of Poe’s works, “The Last Laugh” falls way more into the horror side of things. And it’s not just because of the gore (but there is a good amount of it). It’s also because of the creeping feeling that something really bad is going to happen before it’s all over. It isn’t just a suspense that builds, it’s true dread.

I was very pleased with “The Last Laugh” and how it wrapped up this love letter to Edgar Allan Poe. McGinnis doesn’t mess around when it comes to dark thrillers, be they for Young Adults or people my age.

Rating 8: A satisfying and unsettling conclusion to a Poe-rich thriller, “The Last Laugh” takes on more Poe themes and will unnerve you.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Last Laugh” is included on the Goodreads list “Books Influenced by Edgar Allan Poe”.

Previously Reviewed:

Serena’s Review: “A Far Wilder Magic”

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Book: “A Far Wilder Magic” by Allison Saft

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, March 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.

Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist–yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he’s landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it’s like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt – if they survive that long.

Review: My dad was a hunter, so I always grew up knowing what hunting season we were in by the various dead animals that we’d fine hanging in the shed. Deer, turkeys, even a coyote once or twice (usually when one was bothering my neighboring aunt and uncle’s chickens). And yet, I’ve still been the person who balled through “Fly Away Home” and can’t even think about multiple scenes in “The Fox and the Hound.” All of this to say, a fantasy novel focused on a hunt for a magical fox elicits some very conflicting feelings. But the high praise for the sweet romance was enough to sway this on onto my TBR pile.

Margaret Welty never knows when her mother will return. She understands, her mother is a famous alchemist and has a life-long mission that all but consumes her. Still, alone in a house that is falling down around her, Margaret’s life is full of chores and loneliness. That is until Wes shows up at her door hoping to become an apprentice with Margaret’s mother. Neither seem likely to get what they most want, but in Wes, Margaret sees a way forward for them both. If they kill the hala, the last magical creature in the world, the reward will likely draw Margaret’s mother home, gaining Margaret her family and Wes his teacher. But as the hunt draws nearer, Wes and Margaret begin to question what it is they really want.

So for all of my melodramatic concerns about the fox hunting in this story, when I actually got to the end of it and found myself reflecting on the story, that aspect had very little to do with it. For one thing, I really liked the mythology around the magical hala in the first place. The book explores how one mystical, barely understood creature (creatures, previous to them being exterminated) fit into a wide host of different religions. It was a great way of exploring how a religion or faith’s core beliefs or origin story can really shape the way that those who adhere to that faith move through the world. The different things they prioritize, the different things they condemn, all stemming off of a shared magical set of creatures, even though these different religions interpret and understand them differently. It was a really interesting exploration of religion that I hadn’t expected to find in a YA fantasy story.

Beyond that, however, this book had a huge focus on family and family dynamics. The biggest chunk is devoted to Margaret and the unhealthy and, really, abusive home life that has made up much of her childhood. What I liked so much about this exploration was that it didn’t outright demonize Margaret’s mother. The book explores how events in life can draw on darkness within us all, and it really comes down to the individual whether that darkness consumes them or not. But that everyone could potentially have that trigger in life that could send them down a dark spiral, making the support systems and sympathy we have to those around us all the more important. Even covering these aspects of it, the book doesn’t shy away from pointing out the harsh truths and responsibility that Margaret’s mother has for what she has inflected on her daughter.

Beyond that, the book looks at the conflicted feelings that would arise in a young woman who is beginning to open her eyes to the damage their parent has created, even while still feeling a strong sense of love and loyalty to that unhealthy parent and parental relationship. The book doesn’t sugar coat any of this, avoiding having Margaret come to some big “ah ha!” moment that immediately frees her of the guilty (however misplaced) that would come in challenging a parent in this corrosive dynamic.

Weston’s story is much more straight forward, but it, too, explores family dynamics and the balance between responsibility towards the care of one’s family and the important of following one’s dreams. The story also touches on some of the more complicated aspects of sibling relationships, and how two people who love each other so much can still be incredibly challenged to fully understand the other person’s choices and perspective on life.

I also really enjoyed the romance of this story. It was a slow-burn romance, just as I like. And, with all of these other major themes and fantasy elements, I felt like the balance of romance to story was perfect. Their relationship built up in what felt like a natural way, with various starts and stops along the way. Wes, in particular, had an interesting arch in the romance. He originally shows up as this rather flirtatious, unserious charmer whose social ease has allowed him to quickly form connections with people. But because of this, he struggles to recognize more serious feelings when they show up. Margaret’s story as someone who has learned to have low expectations of those she loves is perhaps a bit more common to see, but equally well done.

I really liked this book. I think it managed to tackle some big themes while keeping up a fast pace, introducing a new magical world, and drawing out a sweet slow-burn romance. Very well done and I recommend it to most all YA fantasy readers! All the better for it being a stand-alone book.

Rating 9: A story that explores the deep trauma of a parent/child relationship gone wrong while also maintaining its sense of wonder and beauty in a new fantasy world.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Far Wilder Magic” is on these Goodreads lists: YA Fantasy Standalone Books and Fantasy Frenemies.

Kate’s Review: “Within These Wicked Walls”

Book: “Within These Wicked Walls” by Lauren Blackwood

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Book Description: What the heart desires, the house destroys…

Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.

Kiersten White meets Tomi Adeyemi in this Ethiopian-inspired debut fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre.

Review: It’s come up on here before, specifically way back when during a joint review of “Jane Steele”, that I really love the book “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë. The Gothic setting and sensibilities, the tough and clever heroine, the admittedly problematic but still, to me, swoony leading man, it’s a book that I hold near and dear to my heart. I am always on the look out for reimaginings, and while some have been good, others have been not, so it always feels like a risk when I dive in. But I kind of knew from the jump that “Within These Wicked Walls” by Lauren Blackwood was going to work for me, because it was not only a retelling based in a non-Western centric gaze, it had ‘exorcist’ in the description. Our Jane equivalent as an exorcist sent to cleanse a haunted manor? Um, HELL YES.

As mentioned, our protagonist Andromeda, or Andi, is a debtera, a trained religious figure who performs exorcisms of people and places. She was taken in by Jember, a volatile and world weary debtera who has been her only connection to others, though his work has left him bitter, cruel, and sometimes flat out abusive to Andromeda. Her life up until this point has made her determined to succeed on her own, and very standoffish around other people. I makes her an interesting protagonist to follow because not only does she have to prove herself to Jember, but she also needs to show herself that she can do these things that she’s been trained to do. It becomes all the more complicated when she arrives at Thorne Manor, as not only is this house INCREDIBLY cursed by the Evil Eye, it also has an occupant, Magnus Rochester, that Andromeda finds herself very taken with. As Andi finds out just how dangerous the spirits and demons are within Thorne Manor, she also finds out that she can make connections with people, like Magnus, and the mysterious but incredibly kind servant Saba. This makes the stakes for Andi all the higher, and it makes it so she perhaps doesn’t realize just how in over her head she may be, despite her prowess and very well honed talents. I definitely liked her relationship with Rochester, as their banter and even footed wits and personalities was very fun to watch. But I was actually more interested in the complicated and sad relationship that she had with Jember, her mentor. As mentioned their interactions are dark and deeply broken, but Blackwood doesn’t opt for easy, black and white lessons or answers when it comes to their relationship. Jember is not good to Andi, it can’t be denied, but I liked how looking into his work as a debtera and through his past traumas kind of give him a lot of depth and complexity.

I also liked the magical systems at play, as well as the setting. Make no mistake, we are not finding ourselves in the Moors for this book, as we are actually in an alternate timeline (I think?) Ethiopia. But the isolation is still there, as are the questions about one’s own strengths and weaknesses, and the fighting of demons within one’s own spirit (as well as literal demons thanks to the Evil Eye resting squarely on Magnus and his home). I know so little about the culture and debteras, but Blackwood lays out the root of the mythology as well as building a fantasy system on top of it. It leads to some pretty creepy demon stuff, as well as interesting magical components that set this firmly into a ‘dark fantasy’ realm. Blackwood has many moments that were tense and scary, and it all felt really well imagined and focused.

I definitely get some of the critiques I’ve seen that question as to whether or not this can really be considered a retelling of “Jane Eyre”, mostly because I do think that you have to look for the parallels beyond the obvious names of Thorne Manor and Rochester. I do argue that they are there, even if they have been tweaked a little bit. While there isn’t a hidden wife in the attic, there is a hidden relationship. Andi may not be a governess but she is a person from one part of society dropped into a highly dysfunctional upper class setting. The simmering and constantly tested romance is alive and well (and once again very easy to root for). It may not be a clear step by step retelling, but, unlike other retellings I’ve encountered in YA literature, at least it feels like it does have the guts and soul of the source material, as opposed to just using it and trying to force it into the box. Maybe ‘reframing’ is a better word.

Overall I enjoyed “Within These Wicked Walls”. It brought fantastical and creepy layers to a Gothic classic, and it had the spirit of the source material while turning the story into something that is very much its own tale.

Rating 8: Immersive, creepy, and incredibly engaging, “Within These Wicked Walls” is a unique and well done reframing of one of my favorite Gothic novels.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Within These Wicked Walls” is included on the Goodreads lists “Jane Eyre Retellings”, and “2021 Fantasy and Science Fiction by Black Authors”.

Find “Within These Wicked Walls” at your library using WorldCat, or at a local independent bookstore using IndieBound!

Serena’s Review: “The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea”

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

Book: “The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea” by Axie Oh

Publishing Info: Feiwel & Friends, March 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Review: You all know what I’m going to say at this point. Yes. Again. The beautiful cover has sucked me in! But I’ve also really enjoyed many of the Asian fairytales I’ve read, be they coming from Chinese, Japanese, or other Eastern cultures. This one is Korean, and I was excited to see what Axie Oh had to offer!

Mina is not a chosen bride, one of the young women chosen each year to be sacrificed to the sea in the hope that their sacrifice will calm the Sea God who torments the land with violent storms each year. No, Mina is not this girl. But her brother’s true love is, and in a desperate attempt to save her brother from pain, Mina throws herself into the sea in place of the true bride. Now, wandering in the Spirit Realm, Mina is determined to solve the mystery surrounding the reserved and closed-in Sea God. She is aided by a young man, Shin, who has spent the last century protecting the Sea God from the other ambitious gods who seek to dethrone him during this time of turmoil. Can Mina unwind this puzzle before her soul is lost forever?

This book has been praised with many comparisons to “Spirited Away.” And while I only enjoyed that movie so much, I know that fanatic fans will take this comparison as a true boon for this book. And I do see the comparisons. Here, too, we have a young woman thrust into a mysterious and dangerous land of spirits where forces are moving beyond her control. The world-building in this book was so good. The Spirit Realm felt vibrant and alive (even though it was filled with the spirits of the dead and gods). You could feel the life teaming in the busy market places, the dangerous river of souls, and the various pavilions of gods. And with each god comes a new challenge for Mina, a young woman who is way out of her depth. I loved the magical elements that we explored alongside of her, the various political maneuverings of the gods, the fantastical elements that flew the air and water, and the color spirts who guided her along her way.

The writing was also excellent. The story simply flows, there’s no other way to say it. Things are constantly happening, but the pace never felt frenetic or frantic. Instead, it was perfectly pitched to slow down and land the emotional hits that come with Mina’s interactions with the Sea God and other gods (the goddess of women and children was a particularly crushing moment). But there was also tons of action, with battles between gods vying for the Sea God’s throne and the dangers of an ever-rising river of the dead.

Mina was a fantastic guide through all of this. She starts off as strong as you can get, sacrificing herself to spare her brother the pain of losing his love. And once she discovers the confusion and mysteries that surround the Sea God, she quickly determines to do her best to still end his curse, even if she knows that she is not the true bride. Her persistence, faith, and hope in the face of despair made her incredibly compelling. There were many moments where you could see the temptation to simply give up and take the good things that she could find for herself in this land. But that is not the way of a girl who has already sacrificed her own life for others. Instead, she pushes through adversity all the way to the end, even past the point where others would caution her to accept the state of things.

I also really liked the relationship that was built up between Mina and Shin. It’s a slow-build romance, and their relationship never felt rushed. Part of this is due to the wise decision not to rely on the romantic relationship to carry the entire story. Instead, Mina’s connection to the Sea God and three special spirits who help her on her way (as well as two of Shin’s friends) all help to flesh out the cast into a satisfying collection of various relationships and emotional draws.

I can’t say enough good things about this book! This review is already way longer than usually I write, and that’s because every time I finish a paragraph I think of another aspect of the story that I want to praise! Fantasy fans should definitely give this one a shop! Especially if you’re a fan of Asian fairytales like “Spirited Away.”

Rating 9: Lush, mystical, and full of life in all of its beauties and sorrows.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea” is on these Goodreads lists: Korean Fantasy Books and Books that inspired or are similar to Miyazaki films.