Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

This is a book of two parts and it makes it such a hard book to review and rate, because I both loved it but also thought it was quite 'meh' at times.

My main issue with this book was the pacing - this isn't an action packed book. This book focuses on building relationships between the main characters - Nik, Evie and Annemette (Anne in the past bits) and revealing the secrets bit by bit, which I must admit did mean that at times I lost the will to continue reading because it was so slow. Not a lot happens until the end and even then the book doesn't hit you hard.

But I did really enjoy the relationships between the characters, and the writing flowed so beautifully in places that it became a pleasure to read even when the pacing was atrocious. I really enjoyed the characters - Nik especially was just cute. 

Overall, Sea Witch was an okay read, with poor pacing but characters and writing that made an attempt to redeem it. 

Book released  21st July 2018 by Katherine Tegan

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

I have a bit of a bugbear about books written from lots of POV's, it has to be done really really well otherwise my attention span just doesn't connect and I forget who is narrating each particular chapter and it all blends in together and I just get from the book what I guest I'm meant to get from it. I class it as sort of 50% my own fault and 50% the author's. In this case, I really did try because I loved the world building and I wanted to love the story and characters - I didn't want to come away feeling unfulfilled but unfortunately I sort of did.

Firstly, let me tell you what I really enjoyed about this book. As I said above, the world building was fantastic. I would say that this book has one of the best fleshed out settings in current YA fantasy because it incorporates mythology and science and magic and I found it so rich. Despite what I'm going to say below, the author's voice was so rich and strong and the writing style was so good I would love to read more from her - I've avoided her previous novels as I struggle with horror sometimes.

That being said, my main issue is as stated above. The changing narration threw me, and I didn't feel like each character had their own voice. As a result I got bored. This is a long book at nearly 500 pages and it felt a lot longer to me. I struggled to get through it and I never connected well with any of the characters, ergo I never really connected with the plot or the story.

This is one of those books which I feel guilty for not loving, because it had so much potential and it was so well thought out, I just really struggled with the narrative and since that is what drives a story, it detracted so much from all of those good point.

I won't be continuing this series, but I will definitely be reading Chupeco's previous works and any future releases not in this story.

Book released  15th October 2019 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston

Cerys is safe in the kingdom of Aloriya.

Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden. Cerys knows this all too well: when she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything. The most danger she faces now, as a gardener’s daughter, is the annoying fox who stalks the royal gardens and won’t leave her alone.

As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions the small fox from the garden, a strange and powerful bear, and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home. But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

Ok, so first off let me comment on that absolutely beautiful cover. The writing, the fox - it really does suit this book's setting. It is completely gorgeous and it gives me an idea of what I'm going to find inside.

Don't get me wrong, I was right. The cover does suit the book perfectly. The setting in this story is so rich and lush and so descriptive so I could envision it when I closed my eyes, especially the wood where much of this story takes place. In fact, sometimes the description was too much, it was a lot of words and a lot of adjectives and it did take away from the story, especially when the setting had already been established. This is something that I found a lot of in this book - repetitiveness. There's all the description and then there's the repetition of the "I'm just a gardeners daughter". 

I also struggled with the infodump at the start. There are all these people names and place names and barely any opportunity to acclimatise to it - I still don't think that I truly understood where we were by the end of the book.

The characters were a mixed bag for me - I did like Cerys, though she did come across as a bit of a Mary-Sue sometimes. She was a fun character and was witty as well. I did really enjoy her interactions with Fox. Fox as a whole was an okay character, but I did find that there were some issues with him. How does a character who was a fox and has no memories of being anything except a fox know what many human things are - for example a scar or a birthmark? I get that in a way this is semi-explained later in the book but it still doesn't all add up. Vala the bear was a great character. I loved her presence.

Aside from all of the above, I did enjoy the first three quarters of the book. The pacing was absolutely brilliant. My issue was when the story got to Voryn as it suddenly kind of began to remind me of all of the dystopian books that came out following The Hunger Games where the utopia is *gasp* not as good as everyone thinks and is led by a steel fisted leader and blah blah... I just started to lose interest around this area. It seemed rushed and not anywhere near as good as the first half of the book. The final part of the book is supposed to be driven by the twists and turns and secrets that are revealed but frankly, I had kind of predicted them in advance.

Overall, Among the Beasts & Briars was an okay book. I enjoyed reading it and it kept me interested enough but it's not going to stand out amongst all of the brilliant fantasy books that are coming out at the moment.

Book released  20th October 2020 by Balzer + Bray

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

Twoyearsago,LouiseleBlancfledhercovenandtookshelterinthecityofCesarine,forsakingallmagicandlivingoffwhatevershecouldsteal.There,witcheslikeLouarehunted.Theyarefeared.Andtheyareburned.

SworntotheChurchasaChasseur,ReidDiggoryhaslivedhislifebyoneprinciple:thoushaltnotsufferawitchtolive.HispathwasnevermeanttocrosswithLou's,butawickedstuntforcesthemintoanimpossibleunion—holymatrimony.

ThewarbetweenwitchesandChurchisanancientone,andLou'smostdangerousenemiesbringafateworsethanfire.Unabletoignorehergrowingfeelings,yetpowerlesstochangewhatsheis,achoicemustbemade.

Andlovemakesfoolsofusall.Twoyearsago,LouiseleBlancfledhercovenandtookshelterinthecityofCesarine,forsakingallmagicandlivingoffwhatevershecouldsteal.There,witcheslikeLouarehunted.Theyarefeared.Andtheyareburned.

SworntotheChurchasaChasseur,ReidDiggoryhaslivedhislifebyoneprinciple:thoushaltnotsufferawitchtolive.HispathwasnevermeanttocrosswithLou's,butawickedstuntforcesthemintoanimpossibleunion—holymatrimony.

ThewarbetweenwitchesandChurchisanancientone,andLou'smostdangerousenemiesbringafateworsethanfire.Unabletoignorehergrowingfeelings,yetpowerlesstochangewhatsheis,achoicemustbemade.

Andlovemakesfoolsofusall.Oh, what a ride. What a fantastic ride to board when I'm trying to motivate myself to read more.

I've been avoiding long books, as my attention span seems to be so short these days and so as a result I have a back log of long, rich fantasy books that I just haven't read and really need to read. Today I told myself I was going to read Serpent and Dove because the hype was so huge and frankly, I was expecting it to let me down.

It didn't.

I mean, yeah, this book is tropey. It is hella tropey. It has as many tropes as a fanfiction and in so many ways it reads as one. 

But does that necessarily need to be a bad thing? Just because Serpent and Dove doesn't do anything too out of the box doesn't mean that it doesn't put all of the tropes together in a really well thought out way. It was unpredictable in a way that was predictable, like I knew that twists were coming and certain things may happen, but I didn't know the when or the how, so it did keep me guessing.

I absolutely loved the characters as well. Lou was spunky and funny and just a likeable character. She was vindictive and manipulative, but in a way that fit with the character and made me cheer her on rather than disliking her. Reid was adorable in this good boy being corrupted but still keeping his core values (to a degree). Coco was very likeable and supportive and I loved her little side story - I feel like I'm going to see more of her in the upcoming sequel. Bas was a wasted character though - we get all these words about their past in the first bit of the book and then - poof, he's gone and then Beau just turns up which seemed a little out of the blue.

The romance did develop quite quickly and it didn't feel entirely natural to start with but as soon as they both admitted their attraction, it just clicked for me. And yes for good, well written sex scenes. I've not read anything that steamy in a YA novel in a looong time and I totally appreciated the inclusion.

The only thing that did sort of throw me off at times was the dialogue. I understand that in fantasy books the dialogue has to suit the setting, but some characters justs eemed stilted and try hard - namely the Archbishop and also Morgane. It did seem to veer into fanfiction as opposed to rich, fantasy setting.

The pacing in this book was excellent though, from start to finish I was engulfed and absorbed and could not put it down. I was reading while cooking, while cleaning, while feeding my baby, while trying to shove a pacifier in my baby's mouth so I could finish it. It couldn't put it down.

Now I need to go crack open Blood and Honey and pray that Reid and Lou get their happy ending because I might cry if they don't.

Book released 3rd September 2019 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.

On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

Oh. My. Gosh. Lush worldbuilding and LatinX influence and LGBT and characters that I love love loved... where has this book been all of my life.

This was - admittedly - a slow build for me... the first few chapters where Dani is preparing to 'graduate' and before she gets into Mateo's house were slow going and I didn't get into it until afterwards, when the rebellion storyline came into swing and Dani's incedicision and the romance with Carmen.

But when all of that hit me... trust, I was sold.

Okay, lets take this bit by bit. There were parts which could have been a little more fleshed out for me. Mateo, for example, is a cookie cutter two-dimensional mean guy. This made it had for us to feel any loyalty to us and whilst this is probably what Mejia intended, it would have been a good arc to follow. It made Dani and Carmen's romance less challenged - I mean don't get me wrong, there were enough challenges along the way, but there could have been more! Still though, the fleshed out political storylines and the growth between Dani and Carmen to the point where they became the OTP of the year for me. Yes, it was great.

The ending left me gagging for more... so I can only say that it is a wonderful, wonderful spark of luck that I have an eArc for 'We Unleash the Merciless Storm' just waiting for me to get into.

I am so ready for it.

Book released 26th February 2019 by Katherine Tegen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

Violet Sterling has spent the last seven years in exile, longing to return to Burleigh House. One of the six great houses of England, Burleigh’s magic always kept the countryside well. And as a child, this magic kept Violet happy, draping her in flowers while she slept, fashioning secret hiding places for her, and lighting fires on the coldest nights to keep her warm.

Everything shattered, though, when her father committed high treason trying to free Burleigh from the king’s oppressive control. He was killed, and Vi was forced into hiding.

When she’s given a chance to go back, she discovers Burleigh has run wild with grief. Vines and briars are crumbling the walls. Magic that once enriched the surrounding countryside has turned dark and deadly, twisting lush blooms into thorns, poisoning livestock and destroying crops. Burleigh’s very soul is crying out in pain.

Vi would do anything to help, and soon she finds herself walking the same deadly path as her father all those years before. Vi must decide how far she’s willing to go to save her house—before her house destroys everything she’s ever known.

I really really enjoyed this book.

To be honest, I hadn't heard much about A Treason of Thorns before I saw it on Edelweiss and so my expectations weren't huge for it, and whilst it did take a little while to draw me in... when I was in, I was in.

This book has a Victorian Gothic kind of vibe, and what I found was particularly good was how Weymouth managed to give the house a personality and - even more amazing - an arc. I loved how Violet's personal development changed the way we saw the house, from her friend and protector so something so much more wild and terrifying. 

I loved the romance story as well, it was swoon worthy and even more, it wasn't straight up instalove. They've known eachother since they were kids so it makes it so much more believable.

I did feel that at times this book could be a little repetitive. Vi would try to save Burleigh and everytime someone throws a spanner in the works she repeats her mantra of 'A Caretaker always puts their house first'. I also feel like the magic was just 'there' and wasn't described in a way in which I could visualise it, and there were some very good descriptions in this book and so many lush things I could visualise that it felt a bit like a cop out.

All being said, despite a few small issues, I did absolutely love this book. Weymouth is a skilled writer and this book had an amazing atmosphere and brilliant characters.

Book released 10th September 2019 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: The Beholder by Anna Bright

 Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match, a partner who will help secure the future of her people. Now that day has finally come.

But after an excruciatingly public rejection from her closest childhood friend, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic, where a series of potential suitors awaits—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.

I feel like this review is going to be a hard one to write. it's barely been five minutes since I finished The Beholder and I can barely put my thoughts into worsdsbecause I'm in two minds.

1) Diversity, amazing secondary characters, intrigue, pretty princesses OMG!
2) What worldbuilding, magical radios and instalove... disjointed retelling.

Let's put these thoughts into words then.

Okay, first the pros. I really really loved the premise of this book. From page one I was hooked by Selah's life and her life in Pontomac and the intrigue with her evil stepmother and ailing father. There were some gorgeous descriptions and some amazing characters.

I particularly liked the crew of The Beholder. They were like a mixing pot of different cultures and backgrounds and they each brought something really fun to the table. Cobie is my BFF for life... I think that their loyalty to Selah even when they weren't being 100% truthful with her was beautiful.

That being said, the whole thing did feel disjointed at times. This is billed as a retelling of The Odyssey but that's nowhere near correct. it's more a retelling of different key tropes of different fairytales and folk stories and fables and they never really knit together as well as you might hope. That, as well as the poor worldbuilding (like really, why is a radio the only technology that exists... why are people in Norway - sorry, I mean Norge - living in a giant tree and where on Earth is Pontomac??) just made the whole thing difficult for me to swallow.

Now lets talk about the love interest. Really, Bright? Do you really need to introduce me to two handsome men that Selah falls for and then just rip through it. Firstly, it kind of makes 90% of the book about arc's which won't be significant down the line and secondly it makes Selah seem desperate, needy and it ruins the integrity of any future love interests. It looks like Captain Lang might be more important in the next book and I just hope that actually goes somewhere. (Torden for life).

The one thing that really saved this book was the writing. Despite a few phrases which seemed out of place for the setting, Bright's writing itself was descriptive and absorbing and took away from the many negatives of this book.

Overall, I will definitely be reading the sequel, but I hope that in it Bright spends more time developing the characters and the world...


 

Book released 6th November 2018 by Katherine Tegen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: A Dress for the Wicked by Autumn Krause

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Shy in Avon-upon-Kynt. And for eighteen years, Emmaline Watkins has feared that her future held just that: nothing.

But when the head of the most admired fashion house in the country opens her prestigious design competition to girls from outside the stylish capital city, Emmy’s dreams seem closer than they ever have before.

As the first “country girl” to compete, Emmy knows she’ll encounter extra hurdles on her way to the top. But as she navigates the twisted world of high fashion she starts to wonder: will she be able to tailor herself to fit into this dark, corrupted race? And at what cost?

Ok. I love Project Runway, despite the fact that I have the fashion sense of a fish - a very unfashionable fish - I love the drama and the campness and I love Heidi/Karlie and I love the designs and the challenges and when this book was described as a fantasy Project Runway I knew that I had to read it.

Don'd get me wrong. I did enjoy this book, it just didn't blow me away. I read it in a day, so it did keep my attention, but it wasn't particularly memorable afterwards. Emmeline fell flat for me, as did all of the other characters. There was some depth, in the political side of things, but it wasn't enough to make this book wow me.

The love story... oh, it could have been this epic stretched-out thing and it could have saved this book... but our headstrong Emmy just fell apart around Tristan, so I just could not bring myself to really like him, or their relationship.

Overall, A Dress for the Wicked was not quite what I expected and it did definitely fall short in my view. That being said, it was fun it just lacked depth and worldbuilding.

 

Book released 6thAugust 2019 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: Angel and Bavar by Amy Wilson

After the death of her parents, Angel has a lot to get used to: a new home, a new family, a new school. The last thing she’s interested in is making new friends. Until she meets Bavar, a strange boy who slips through the shadows, a boy who might understand her nightmares.

But Bavar doesn’t want to let anyone in. Everyone—and everything—in his enchanted house is already urging him to step up and protect the world from a magical rift and the fearsome monsters traveling through it, a responsibility he wishes he could ignore.

Then Bavar discovers that the monsters are the same ones that killed Angel’s parents. Determined to stop the creatures for good, he reluctantly accepts Angel’s help. Together, Angel and Bavar must find the courage to stand up for each other and themselves to repair the rift between worlds…before it’s too late.

Ok. I'll admit something before I write this review.

I failed to realise that this book was middle grade when I downloaded it on Edelweiss, so I started it expecting a slavic inspired Beauty and the Beast. However, whilst the fairytale inspiration is there, the fairytale romance that I wanted was not. Not a bad thing, and completely my own fault, but not what I expected.

When I did get past that, I started to enjoy this book. There is a lot of depth there - something that MG books tend to lack - and Bavar especially was the type of broken character that the genre lacks. The friendship between Bavar and Angel was heartwarming, and that - I think - is the main point of this book. It's very well done.

That being said, there was a somewhat rushed feel about this book that stopped me being so into it. I would have loved Wilson to have taken a step back and used a little more time to flesh out the world and the characters. Kids like to imagine, and they need more description to do that.

Overall, Angel and Bavar was a lovely book about friendship and one of the better Middle Grade titles when it comes to characterisation. That being said, I do feel that the pacing was a little off and the descriptions were lacking which meant this book didn't quite become everything it could have been.

Book released 6th November 2018 by Katherine Tegen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review