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

Waiting On Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

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It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

Review: All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?

All of the comparisons for this book seem to mention One of Us is Lying, which unfortunately I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading (though it is sitting high up on my TBR), so I can't speak for that.

What I can say is that All Your Twisted Secrets just did not hit the mark for me. It started out super engaging, and to start with I was super interested in the plot. High stakes, mysteries, a complete sense of panic... it was so exciting for me and I couldn't wait to see how the characters were going to deal with the situation they found themselves in.

However as the story continued on, my interest in any of the characters and also their safety and fate just... waned? 

The problem with books like this is that they are hit and miss. You have to have really interesting characters and you need to care about them. You need to build 3-D personalities so that you can see the good and the bad in everyone, otherwise you don't care about the 'mean kid' or the 'popular kid' and you do care about the 'nerd' and the 'good girl'. It also means that any plot twists don't seem too out of character. This book also had the added issue that the present day story took place in a locked room so it relied so much on dialogue and character interactions, and yet it still erred on the side of 'telling' and not 'showing'. 

If the interactions had been richer and the characters had been less stereotypes and more real, this book would have held my interest until the end and thus the ending would have hit me harder and made me go 'wow', but unfortunately it just didn't land for me. 

It was a good enough time killer, but I can't say I would recommend it to anyone unless they were looking for a very specific type of book and even then, there are gritty, thrilling contemporary books that I would recommend over this one anyway.

Book released  17th March 2020 by HarperTeen

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: Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis

The world is not tame.

Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she's alone - and far off trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with nothing but the clothes on her back, Ashley must figure out how to survive despite the red streak of infection creeping up her leg.

PSA: This is not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

I am a big fan of survival stories. I am also a big fan of Mindy McGinnis. Therefore I knew that I would probably like this book.

That being said, this book took a risky route in that it is one character on her own. Her internal dialogue was what drove this story forward, but if you need lots of dialogue then this is not for you. If you want seclusion and fear and inner turmoil then it may just be the book you need.

Okay, so I wasn't sold on Ashley from the start. She's a typical teen - meaning she is prone to judgement and jealousy and isn't perhaps the nicest character. She judges her friends, her enemies and anywhere in between. Also, this is a girl who apparently knows the woods. She knows how to survive, so even in an irrational moment of devestation I don't believe that Ashley would run barefoot into the woods in the middle of the night.

That being said, she did. This is where we are. She has a mangled foot and has no idea where she is. She's run a while and then fallen down a ridge and she was drunk so all she has to do now is get back on the trail. I really liked reading her confidence - she'll get back, she'll be fine - turn to despair as she realises she has no idea where she is... where the trail is, and as she realised she needs medical help and fast.

There's not much more I can say about this book, because I don't want to spoil plot points beyond that, I want every reader to experience the fear and isoplation I did as I read this book, so I'm going to stop by saying that I really enjoyed this book - another banger by Mindy McGinnis.

Book released 3rd March 2020 by Katherine Tegen

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

Review: A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

I read 'Shatter Me' by Mafi like... nine years ago or something, and whilst I never finished the series because I didn't really like the direction it was going, I remember thinking that Mafi really had a way with words. I am very glad that she toned down her style for this book though, it didn't need beautiful prose. That being said, I think she toned down the style a little too much because this book just read as 'I did and I said' - telling not showing.

I hate to say this, because I get the feeling that this book is semi-autobiagraphical for Mafi and I don't want to insult the author in any way, but I simply didn't like Shirin as a character. I get it, she has every right to be angry at the world after how she was treated and people can be awful, but she doesn't allow herself to see other people as people. She is so prepared to be offended at every corner that she doesn't stop to think about how she might be percieved for that. She is described as 'mean' and 'scary' by many characters and doesn't see how that might be an issue.  I feel like if this is semi-autobiographical maybe the 30+ year old Mafi could have fine-tuned some of the characters a little bit.

 I liked Ocean, and I liked his persistance in bringing Shirin out of her angry defensive shell. I wish he had been more fleshed out though. They fall in this deep, all-encompassing love without knowing the first thing about each other which made it hard for me to really get on board with.

I love what Mafi was trying to do here, and she did a lot in raising awareness in me with regards to what Muslims suffered after 9/11. That was such an important thing for me... so why did this so suddenly turn into a romance plot. Why did Ocean's suffering take over Shirin's?
  
Look, I really appreciate what Mafi was trying to do here. I know how priveledged I am in my life and maybe this book didn't hit me where it was meant to for that reason, but it felt derailed and unfocused, like someone's memoirs that need a finetune and for that reason this book seriously disappointed me.

 

Book released 16th October 2018 by HarperTeen

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