Tag: Young Adult

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Book: “Sun of Blood and Ruin” by Mariely Lares

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, February 2024

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

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

Book Description: In sixteenth-century New Spain, witchcraft is punishable by death, indigenous temples have been destroyed, and tales of mythical creatures that once roamed the land have become whispers in the night. Hidden behind a mask, Pantera uses her magic and legendary swordplay skills to fight the tyranny of Spanish rule.

To all who know her, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin never leaves the palace and is promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. The respectable, law-abiding Lady Leonora faints at the sight of blood and would rather be caught dead than meddle in court affairs.

No one suspects that Leonora and Pantera are the same person. Leonora’s charade is tragically good, and with magic running through her veins, she is nearly invincible. Nearly. Despite her mastery, she is destined to die young in battle, as predicted by a seer.

When an ancient prophecy of destruction threatens to come true, Leonora–and therefore Pantera–is forced to decide: surrender the mask or fight to the end. Knowing she is doomed to a short life, she is tempted to take the former option. But the legendary Pantera is destined for more than an early grave, and once she discovers the truth of her origins, not even death will stop her.

Review: So, I went into this one with some trepidation. On one hand, I love the idea of a fantasy re-imaging of “Zorro” with a gender-swapped main character and taking place during the 16th century in the Spanish-colonized part of Mexico. So many parts of that premise have me interested, and, as a massive “Zorro” fan, I’ve been looking for a great version of this story for ages and have yet to find one. But on the other hand, this is one of those examples of a book that definitely suffers from its publication date. In that, it was published several months ago in the U.K. and picked up by various book boxes since then. That being the case, there are a ton of reviews available with readers thoughts on the book. And, unfortunately, they’re largely middling. However, given how excited I was initially and the fact that I often find myself disagreeing with the prevailing take, I still wanted to give this one a shot.

So, right away, I can understand why this book was a struggle for many readers. And while, as you’ll see from my rating, I largely agreed with the general consensus of this book, there are a few points that didn’t work for others that bothered me less. First of all, the book starts out in a very disjointed manner, with lots of jumps in time from the present day and then back in time Leonora’s days training in the jungle. I have no problem being plopped down in books like this, with very little information to start with, but it is a problem point for many readers. I will say, that while this basic structure wasn’t a problem for me, the overall execution of it was not the best. The way it was done severely impacted the pacing of the story, preventing me from connecting with the characters or really finding as solid footing in this world.

This was made more difficult by the need to rather regularly check the glossary at the back of the book to understand what was actually being discussed at times. Here, again, I like glossaries for the most part, but in general, I feel like they should support the story, rather than being required for basic comprehension of plot points of the story. This wasn’t helped by the fact that this is a very political book. I do like political stories, and, knowing less about this particular region and time period, I went into this one excited to learn more. However, again, the actual plotting and progression of the story that explored these ideas was so disjointed that it made the reading experience itself a challenge, and it wasn’t until the mid-point of the story that I really began to place how everyone was interacting with one another.

On top of this, I was disappointed in the “Zorro” aspects of the story. For all that we’re told that the Pantera is this badass vigilante, we get to see very little of this on the page. I was interested in the politics, sure, but I’m a simple woman at heart: I just wanted a bunch of badass Zorro/Pantera fight scenes, and I felt like that was severely lacking.

The writing, overall, was ok. I think the author had more success with her world-building and descriptive prose, however, than with the dialogue. Much of the latter felt stilted and scripted in a way that constantly took me out of the story. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I wasn’t super invested in the heroine or her love interest. There wasn’t anything actively bad about either of these characters, but I also simply didn’t care about their stories or their romance.

Overall, unfortunately, I have to agree that the general consensus for this book was largely right. Perhaps it will find its place with readers who are more interested in a political fantasy story than a “Zorro” story and who aren’t thrown by the slow start. But, sadly, my search for the definitive “Zorro” book continues.

Rating 6: Kind of a mess, with a plot that was all over the place and a main character who spent a lot of time telling us about being a badass vigilante, but less time showing us.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Sun of Blood and Ruin” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Historical Fiction 2024 and 2023 Debuts.

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

Book: “Infinity Alchemist” by Kacen Callender

Publishing Info: Tor Teen, February 2024

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

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

Book Description: For Ash Woods, practicing alchemy is a crime.

Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic―so when Ash is rejected by the Lancaster Mage’s College, he takes a job as the school’s groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret.

When he’s discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he’s about to be arrested―but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash’s secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power.

As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists―Ash’s estranged father included. Ash’s journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it.

Review: While I hadn’t read any other books by this author, I was aware that he had written a good number of books before this one and was generally quite enjoyed! So I jumped at the opportunity to see what types of books he had in store! Plus, I’m always down for a good alchemist story! Unfortunately, however, I really struggled to enjoy this one. But, as always, let’s start with a few things I did enjoy!

While heavy-handed at times, I enjoyed the world-building and society that this book presented and the ways in which the author used these fantastical features to make commentary on the real world struggles and prejudices that people may face. I wouldn’t say any of it was particularly subtle or ground-breaking, but it also got the job done, and I think readers who enjoy a good social commentary built into their fantasy novel will likely enjoy this aspect of the story. I also enjoyed the unique take on the magic system, in which everyone is capable of alchemy since it pulls from one’s life force, but use of this magic is still heavily regulated and licensed. It sets up a good foundation for our main character, a young man who practices alchemy in secret.

But while this premise is good, I found myself really disliking Ash throughout much of this book. Yes, it is YA and Ash is young and thus somewhat excused for bursts of emotion, but this character really took it to new levels. He would react so explosively to situations that it was immediately off-putting, especially given how often these reactions placed him and his friends in more danger. At a certain point, “fiery” becomes just plain dumb and unfortunately, Ash crossed this line more than once. And then he’d swing wildly back to swooning over love interests the very next moment.

And this got to another struggle point: love interests, plural. As far as my romance preferences go, throuple stories are fairly low in my interest. For me, they’re like love triangles that just…continue. And all of the struggles I have with love triangles then just…continue. In that I often don’t feel like enough has been done to build up actual relationships between all three of the characters and everything quickly begins to feel superficial and like instalove (more really, instalust, given the lack of time/development given to these relationships). Such was the case here. On one hand, this is on me. If I had dug a bit deeper, I may have just passed on this book, knowing that I’m not going to be the best reader for it. But on the other hand, objectively, I do think these relationships are lacking in any real substance, unfortunately.

And, lastly, I do have to touch on some readability issues. One of Ash’s love interests is a character named Ramsey who is genderfluid. This is then expressed on page by switching the pronouns from “they” to “him” between chapters. I’m not sure what the solution is to writing these types of characters, but this approach really left me struggling and more often than not pulled me out of the story while I re-read sentences to find the context that might clue me in on who the “he” was at any given moment. Given that the character also used “they,” it might have been best to just leave it at that. I’m not sure if switching pronouns between chapters served any real purpose, narratively, and, for me at least, it took me out of the book enough times to severely disrupt my reading experience, from a practical point.

Over all, I really struggled with this book. While there is a lot of action on the page, I felt disconnected from all of the characters and had a hard time maintaining interest in their stories. Fantasy readers who enjoy throuple stories and are looking for a good fantasy world with social commentary built in nicely may want to check this out. But I do think there are better books out there with all of these things.

Rating 6: A dislike of the main character and a struggle with some of the writing mechanics left this one as a bit of a downer for me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Infinity Alchemist” can be found on this list: 2024 Dark Academia Releases.

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

Book: “Into the Sunken City” by Dinesh Thiru

Publishing Info: HarperTeen, January 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: In the slowly sinking city of Coconino, Arizona, the days are long, the money is tight, and the rain never stops.

For Jin Haldar, this life is nothing new—ever since her father died in a diving accident, she’s barely made ends meet for her and her younger sister, Thara.

Enter Bhili: a drifter who offers Jin and Thara the score of a lifetime—a massive stash of gold hidden in the sunken ruins of Las Vegas.

Jin knows it’s too dangerous. She stopped diving after her father’s accident. But when her sister decides to go, Jin’s left with only one choice: to go with her.

A ragtag crew is assembled—including Jin’s annoyingly hot ex-boyfriend. From there, a high-stakes heist ensues that’s beyond even Jin’s wildest fears. Crumbling ruins, sea beasts, corsairs, and a mysterious figure named João Silva all lie in wait. To survive, Jin will have to do what she promised herself she’d never do again: dive.

Review: While I do enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, for some reason I don’t end up reading much of it. And I read even less cli-fi, though I have enjoyed many of them when I have picked up a title in this subgenre. So I was intrigued when I came across this book: an intriguing mixture of a climate -change stricken world and a swashbuckling pirate adventure story!

There was a lot to like about this book, starting with the world-building. At its core, its recognizable as the world we inhabit today by the names of current cities and the like. But nothing of the landscape we know remains; instead, much of it is sunken beneath rising ocean tides. I felt like the environmental aspects of the world-building worked very well, in that I felt immersed in this water-soaked world in a way that was both intriguing and, at times, uncomfortable! It was fun piecing together the bits of our known geography on top of this landscape that is completely foreign to what we know now. I also enjoyed how this society was built up around the challenges its people faced living in this new environment. It had a very “Waterworld” type of vibe.

I also liked our main character Jin. She had a funny, sarcastic voice that was immediately appealing. And, of course, I always love sisters stories, so it was a pretty easy win on this book’s part what with the focus being on Jin’s attempts to keep her sister safe, necessitating her dangerous dives. Is it a familiar character motivation, the young woman who takes on the dangerous task to prevent her sister from doing the same, ala “Hunger Games?” Yes. But is it still as effective a character motivation as ever? Also, yes. This book also doesn’t shirk in truly establishing the complicated nature of this relationship. They may be sisters, but there are messy aspects to that relationship, all tied up with their love for one another.

That said, I felt a bit mislead on the romance front. This book was tagged as a romance and includes a fairly decent focus on the relationship between Jin and her ex in the book summary itself. As it stands, this was a very minor part of the book. On one hand, I’m happy with romance taking on only a smaller role in a story (indeed, I think some of my favorite love stories are the ones that are secondary to the primary story itself). But I do think that this book was set up in its marketing in a way that may lead some readers a bit dismayed on the very subtle romantic elements. However, while the book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger per se, it’s clear a second book is coming, so the love story may take on a bigger role in that book.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book! The unique setting was interesting, and I the close look at family dynamics and Jin’s relationships with those around her really drew me in. If you’re looking for a different sort of read, definitely check this one out. Just temper your expectations on the romance front (I didn’t think this was a loss for the book, but more for readers’ awareness purposes!)

Rating 8: Action-packed and surprisingly deep with regards to its portrayal of family dynamics!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Into the Sunken City” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Teen Pirate Books and Heist / Criminal Books in YA.

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

Book: “The Dark Fable” by Katherine Harbour

Publishing Info: Bloomsbury YA, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Magical heists. Deadly secrets. Come along for the ride . . . if you dare. This heart-stopping, seductive fantasy is perfect for fans of Six of Crows .

Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed . . . until she’s caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts.

Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable’s past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.

No one is who they seem to be and the price of uncovering the Dark Fable’s cryptic history just might be fatal . . .

Review: I honestly am starting to wonder if there has ever been another book as popular to name drop when attempting to hype an upcoming YA fantasy novel as “Six of Crows.” I mean, that book has been out for years and years now. There have been many other popular YA books since then, as well. And while there are other contenders (“Uprooted” sure had a run there for a while), I don’t think there’s any underestimating just how many books have been heralded as the next “Six of Crows.” But if producing another “Six of Crows” was as easy as it is to name-drop it, well, we’d have about a million excellent heist books on our hands! As it stands, it is not that easy, and instead we have an almost overwhelming number of found family/thief books that are mostly…ok. And this one, while definitely not the worst I’ve seen, is yet another continuance in a years-long trend.

One thing this book definitely did not lack was creativity and ideas. The author not only creates a huge cast of characters, but she equips them all with a plethora of magical abilities and detailed (often traumatic) histories. She also didn’t hold back in her descriptions of said characters; perhaps diving into exactly what they were wearing a few too many times for my taste. I felt like I had a very good, very superficial understanding of who everyone is, but not much more than that. While I was impressed by the large scope, the actual character development felt lacking. For a book with many characters, you’d think a larger focus would have been placed on creating more in-depth relationships between them. But, instead, I felt like I was quickly given the parameters within which they all engaged with one another, and not much more was established beyond this initial insight. And, again, because the cast of characters is so large, a decent chunk of the beginning of the novel must be devoted to Evie meeting each and every one of these characters, which puts an immediate stumbling block in front of the pacing right from the get go.

I also felt like the plot was a bit muddled at times. Again, there is no lack of ideas and the action kept on coming throughout much of it. But, in a weird way, there’s this thing when reading where too much going on can result in just as much boredom and disconnect as too little. And here, we definitely had the former. While seemingly important and exciting events were constantly unfolding, I felt myself loosing interest and drifting away from the primary story itself.

Towards the end of the book, there were a decent numbers of twists and turns that were able to draw me back into the story. So if you’re invested enough early on, I do think the book can offer up a decent payoff for those who stick it through. I also think the writing itself was approachable and fairly strong, and if I had gotten a bit more in actual character development and perhaps a bit less of some of the superficial descriptions, this book might have worked better for me. As it is, this was a bit of a middling book for me. If you’re a die-hard found-family/fantasy heists reader, than this one might be worth checking out. But if you’re already on the fence about yet another “Six of Crows” read-alike, then I don’t think this one is really going to blow your mind.

Rating 7: Approachable and even at times fun, but too little actual character development really sank this one for me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Dark Fable” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Releases January 2024.

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

Book: “Once a Queen” by Sarah Arthur

Publishing Info: WaterBrook, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: When fourteen-year-old Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, troubling questions arise. Why the estrangement? What’s with the house’s employees and their guarded secrets? Why must Eva never mention trains, her father, or her favorite childhood fairy tales?

After strange things start happening in the gardens at night, Eva turns to the elderly housekeeper, gardener, and the gardener’s great-grandson, Frankie, for answers. Astonishingly, they all seem to believe the fairy tales are true–that portals to other worlds still exist, though hidden and steadily disappearing. They suspect that Eva’s grandmother was once a queen in one of those worlds.

But Eva’s grandmother denies it all. After a horrific family tragedy when she was young, her heart is closed to the beauty and pain of her past. It’s up to Eva, with Frankie’s help, to discover what really happened, whether family relationships can be restored, and if the portals are closed forever. As she unravels generational secrets, Eva wrestles with the grief of a vanishing childhood–and the fear that growing up means giving up fairy tales forever.

Review: I don’t typically read books on the younger side of YA (or at least, ones that feature characters who are on the younger side, such as 14-year-old Eva in this one). I’ve found that more and more I’ve struggled to connect to YA fiction, especially when it reads on the younger side. There are still ones out there that fully grab my attention, and I can think of a number that rose to truly high levels. But, either it’s me or its the subgenre, but I feel like there have been more and more tropes, and less and less original content. That being the case, I was almost more intrigued to try this book, in that it was well outside of my usual YA fare, brushing shoulders more with middle grade fiction than anything else. And while it didn’t fully work for me, I do think it was a pleasant, satisfying read, especially for those who are looking for a good middle grade fantasy novel.

Let’s start with what I liked! In a lot of ways, this book will read as cozily familiar for classic fantasy fans: you have a mysterious manor house full of nooks and crannies and even more mysterious relatives who hint at secret pasts. It’s clear that the author was influenced by books like C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia” series and similar classic portal fantasies. But while it is referential to other fantasy stories, it also felt unique enough to hold its own. I enjoyed exploring alongside Eva as she discovered more and more about her family history.

That said, for the first 75% of the book, the pacing was fairly sluggish. It’s a long wait to actually see the main character dive into any real action or really put together all that she’s learning. It takes even longer for any of the actual portal fantasy elements to come into play. In this way, it was a bit of a frustrating read for me. However, I can see readers who are less familiar (or less interested in) fantasy feeling differently, that the magical elements were merely sprinkled on top of an interesting family-drama-centric middle grade story.

I also enjoyed the exploration of Eva’s relationship with her grandmother, a relation that has largely been an unknown entity in her life up to this point. As her grandmother’s history was revealed, I was intrigued to learn how her grandmother had ended up where she was and why she had made the choices she did. The idea of a granddaughter helping her grandmother rediscover her belief in fairytales is just as cozy at it sounds.

All of that said, I still struggled to get through this book. For me, I was looking for a bit more action and a bit more time spent in other magical worlds. However, I do think it will connect better for readers looking for a cozy fantasy novel with a strong focus on familial relationships and histories.

Rating 7: More successful as a family history story than a portal fantasy, but I do think middle grade cozy fantasy readers will enjoy this one more than I did!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Once a Queen” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2024

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

Book: “Somewhere in the Deep” by Tanvi Berwah

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit. After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island.

Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined. But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone… in the dark.

From the author of Monsters Born and Made comes an action-packed South Asian inspired fantasy that will have your heart racing at every turn.

Review: I immediately clicked to read more about this book when I spotted this cover. It’s so unique and strange! Paired with the title, you get a vague sense of a sea creatures, alien worlds, and a sense of wonder and danger. Which, reading more about it, pairs perfectly with the type of story this proports to be! It’s also very original from the covers you typically see for YA fantasy, so it does a good job of allowing the book to stand out from the crowd right off the bat. But let’s get into the book itself.

So, I did struggle with this book, but it was more on the side of my failing to really connect to or become invested in the story itself. Some of this is surely down to my preferences, and other parts of this can come down to weaker elements in the book. But, that said, there were also a lot of strengths and I do think there are definitely readers out there who will like this book.

For one thing, it is definitely a breath of fresh air in the current YA fantasy environment. As much as I love fairytales and witchy fantasy stories, we’ve seen a good number of them over the last few years. But this book treads new ground feeling slightly sci-fi and slightly post-apocalyptic, all while exploring a very unique world made of an island and its deep, dangerous cavern system. I really enjoyed the creative creatures that populated this world, and the culture and society that had been built up around surviving in this sort of harsh landscape. All of these elements also creates the perfect stage on which to place a fast-moving, action-packed plot. The pacing starts out fasts, keeps going fast, and then wraps up fast.

That said, I struggled to really connect to the story that was being told. It is one of those cases where there is nothing actively wrong that I can point to, either in the style of writing or the characterization, but more a situation where everything felt a bit watered down. Krescent Dune (well, I guess I can point to that character name as highly questionable) is your generic YA heroine: strong, brave, but also conveniently obtuse about the motivations of those she claims to know best (we’ll get to that). The writing, for its part, was also…serviceable? Again, nothing wrong with it, but it also felt incredibly generic, with a limited vocabulary and fairly repetitive approach to sentence structure. Like I said, none of it is bad, but it was also the type of writing that doesn’t necessarily draw you in. It tells the story, but not much else.

I also went in with high hopes for the romance. We’ve seen a good number of enemies-to-lovers romances, and of course I love those as well. But I was excited going into this one with the promise of a friends-to-lovers story (I will say that the book description seems to be intentionally misleading on this point, which I find very annoying, especially as romance tropes/types are very subjective as far as what readers do and don’t enjoy). And while I did still appreciate this change in tone and approach to a love story, I was also fairly frustrated by much of it. Like I hinted at earlier, much of the tension in the romance was centered around Krescent’s inability to see what was right in front of her: Rivan’s feelings for her. Of course, there are ways to make this sort of relationship drama work, but I do think it takes a certain skill to create a love story where you main character has to be oblivious to the motivations of someone she knows well without also coming across as a bit of a dunderhead herself. It also wasn’t helped that much of their relationship was completely dependent on the reader being told that they have had this long-standing friendship, more than showing these moments between them.

So, I don’t really know where to leave things. I think that some readers will enjoy this book for sure, but I also wasn’t blown away by anything it had to offer. If you’re highly anticipating this one, definitely give it a shot. But if you’re on the fence, there might be other ones you want to check out first.

Rating 7: While the author created a unique world and had some interesting creatures, I struggled to stay invested in the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Somewhere in the Deep” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2024

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

Book: “A Fragile Enchantment” by Allison Saft

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

Review: I’ve had access to this e-book for a while thanks to the publisher sending me an ARC a few months ago. But there have been many books to read and review between then and now, so it’s been quite the struggle! I really enjoyed Saft’s “A Far Wilder Magic,” and then combine the romantic cover art on this one with a description that includes the phrase “fantasy of manners” and, well, the anticipation has been killing me! But we’re finally to 2024 and now it’s time to dive right in!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though there were a few odd things about its pacing, especially towards the final quarter of the book. But let’s start with the all of the good stuff. First of all, I love Saft’s style of writing. It’s approachable, engaging, and I very quickly felt attached to the characters and plot. The dialogue was also capable of delivering laughs just as much as conveying the more emotional, romantic scenes. It was a very smooth reading experience, and, like I said, for the first 75% of the story, I was zipping along without a care in the world. I also enjoyed the world-building and magical elements. Nothing was overly complex here, but it also all felt complete enough that I felt solidly placed within the world and understood how the magic worked.

I also really enjoyed the characters. Niamph was a unique leading lady in that she had a powerful magical ability, but also struggled with a degenerative disease that limited her actions. I liked the exploration of how Niamph approached life with an illness that left her unknowing of what time she had left. Throughout the story, we see both the struggles and strengths that this brought to the character. On one hand, we see her rise to grab life by both hands, knowing she must experience what she has been given. But on the other hand, we see her struggle to place the appropriate value on herself and her own desires, all too willing to put others before herself when she sees a limited life span before her.

This theme, the exploration of what is owed to one’s family, is one that carries over to many of the other characters in the story, most notably the romantic interest, the prince himself. Kit is in an arranged marriage, so it is very easy to see how this theme would pair with his story. His struggles with his relationship with his brother, the king, were interesting and dove deeper into this overall theme in ways I was not expecting.

That said, this same theme of familial obligation popped up with yet another character in the final quarter of the story. And it was at this point that I began to feel a bit beaten over the head with it all. At this point in the story, I felt like we’d thoroughly explored the angles of this topic, and, importantly, we see these struggles through the experiences of our two main characters. So when I ran into the exact same theme and talking points showing up for this third, very much side, character, I was a bit exasperated. It felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the examination of this theme or to the story progression itself.

I also loved the romance at the heart of the story. In some ways, it progressed a bit quickly, but I was also so invested in Niamph and Kit that I was able to go along with it fairly easy. I don’t think this quite rises to the level of “enemies to lovers,” but they do have a contentions start to their relationship that builds up nicely to the eventual resolution. However, again, what felt like a very organic, natural build to their relationship was interrupted in the last third/quarter of the book in ways that seemed to break the natural pacing. It began to feel choppy and bit all over the place, as if the author had several extra plot beats that she wasn’t sure how to fit in naturally, so it was all just shoved into this final bit of the story.

So, in the end, this was a bit of a broken up reading experience. The first 60-75% of this book was a solid 9-10 rating for me, enjoyment-wise. But then it felt like things fell apart during what should have been the climax of the story. The overall themes of the book began to feel tired and over-used when they were applied to a third, side character, and the romantic tension also felt let down by some odd beats in this last bit. All of that said, I still would recommend this book to romantic fantasy fans, especially those looking for a fantasy of manners story that is low on the spice level.

Rating 8: Sweetly romantic with two compelling leading characters, though the book stumbles in the last bit of the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Fragile Enchantment” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Regency Fantasy and Romantasy.