Aside from this I joined NetGalley and have been granted access to some amazing books that I would not have read otherwise and you can see the first five books I reviewed through this service below! I have plenty more to review in the coming months.
In total I was able to read 11 books this month! There are 4 fantasies, 1 chick-lit, 1 poetry collection, 1 non-fiction, 1 adult humorous horror, 1 YA horror, and 1 YA science fiction.
Check out my reviews below and happy reading!
Title: Bridget Jones's Diary Author: Helen Fielding
Page Count: 271
Rating: A
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Chick Lit
Keywords: Self, Love, Humor
Kid Appropriate: No
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Meet Bridget Jones—a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:
a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise
"123 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)..."
Bridget Jones' Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program the VCR.
Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like millions of readers the world round — you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!"
My Review:
I will fully admit that my high rating is a bit biased by the fact that the movie adaptation is my go to movie to watch whenever I need cheering up or am just home for the day. There is just something so incredibly relatable about Bridget and her awkwardness that I find endearing.
When I picked this book up originally I began to feel a bit panicked. It is so incredibly slow to begin with but the longer you read the more you settle into the diary format of the tale and begin to at the very least smirk at the ridiculous antics of Ms. Jones. It is easy to compare your own inner monologue with the worries and desires of Bridget as she is scrambling to find herself when it seems everyone around her has their lives figured out. That sentiment alone makes the story easy to connect with and enjoy.
I certainly would not describe it as "screamingly funny" the way it is on the cover but it is addictive and light enough to keep your attention when you're needing just to unwind. I will admit though that I did have one issue with the diary. I knew from reading interviews and trivia about the movie that Bridget Jones is usually described as not being stick thin. However, when I picked this book up she records her weight which fluctuates between 119 lbs and 130 lbs. The upper range is constantly referred to as being overweight. It was definitely not what I was expecting and left me a bit confused.
As far as its similarity to the movie, the main cast of characters and various occupations are kept constant but there are enough differences that it wasn't overly predictable and repetitive. Some key differences are the character of Bridget's mother, her brother, and the love triangle plays out a bit differently than in the movie. From that I can assume that there will be key differences form the other movies and their corresponding books.
If you're looking to reminisce about the 1990s, enjoy a lighter read, or are just a fan of the movies I would definitely recommend giving this one a chance.
Title: Ragnarok UnwoundAuthor: Kristin Jacques
Page Count: 254
Rating: C
Format Read: NetGalley e ARC
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Keywords: Norse, Apocalypse, Prophecy
Kid Appropriate: Hard to tell
Expected Release: August 1, 2019
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Prophecies don't untangle themselves.
Just ask Ikepela Ives, whose estranged mother left her with the power to unravel the binding threads of fate. Stuck with immortal power in a mortal body, Ives has turned her back on the duty she never wanted.
But it turns out she can’t run from her fate forever, not now that Ragnarok has been set in motion and the god at the center of that tangled mess has gone missing. With a ragtag group of companions—including a brownie, a Valkyrie, and the goddess of death herself—Ives embarks on her first official mission as Fate Cipher—to save the world from doomsday.
Nothing she can't handle. Right?
My Review:
So I was provided this free galley for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this one after reading the synopsis and thinking that it was definitely up my alley. Monsters, Norse mythology, and a prophesied power have all been great loves in my reading life.
First, the good. I like what I could tell about the characters. They seem like they could be a good cast that flows well together and make sense. Also, the overall concept has a lot of potential to be a fun ride of a read. There are segments that are reminiscent of Kim Harrison (The Hollows series), Janet Evanovich, and Jennifer L. Armentrout. All are authors that I enjoy for the fact that they are quite simply fun with paranormal twists.
Now I am going to split my review into two parts because there was a disconnect with the first part of the book and the second:
1st 33% of the ebook:
Unfortunately, I really did not like this part. As this is an ARC I expected it not to be perfect but the formatting on my Kindle was so bad that I could not follow who was speaking or when and I have numerous sections highlighted simply because there was an error in the grammar or the wrong punctuation was used. This just about broke my proofreading heart.
On top of this the execution of the story felt very much like a first draft and I repeatedly was reminded of Stephen King's On Writing where he lectures about avoiding an overuse of adjectives and to say things simply. The use of synonyms and flowery prose was distracting and made the story line difficult to follow.
Aside from this there is a complete lack of focus in the narrative. It is almost like you are trying to have a conversation with someone that is constantly distracted and goes off on an incoherent tangent. The placement of random details that could easily be edited out of the final cut make the story nearly incomprehensible. Along with this there were moments where I feel like there was information left out that would have been crucial in world building.
Do I believe this story has potential? Absolutely. Would I recommend it in its current state? No.
Remaining two thirds:
At this point the story really began to come back into a more coherent flow and the writing felt like it had been more thoroughly edited. There is a good amount of energy as the tale moves along and some humor.
My favorite character had to be Hel with her quirky personality and fashion sense including unicorns and My Little Pony. However, characters sometimes felt as if they were sharing a single personality whenever they had dialogue and did not give enough of a unique feeling that I always knew who was speaking.
Overall the book ended up being enjoyable enough and it took less than 24 hours to read. With some more editing for the minor mistakes that were driving me crazy while I was reading as well as the occasional jumping of the story line that left massive holes in understanding it could be a good book.
I would mostly recommend this for someone looking for a lighter read, fans of Loki, and mostly readers that already have a firm grasp of the basics of Norse mythology.
Title: The MercilessAuthor: Danielle Vega
Page Count: 279
Rating: B
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Horror
Keywords: Devil, Military, Exorcism
Kid Appropriate: No, there's literally a mature audiences only warning in the front of the book
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned
Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.
Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.
Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .
In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?
My Review:
I picked this up at the 50% off sale that Barnes & Noble had at the beginning of September as a birthday treat to myself along with a tote of other books. I remembered hearing people reading this when it first came out in 2014 and figured I would give it a try. I did not read the synopsis first. Hence, my reading experience fell quite hard into the category of "what the hell did I just read?".
Now, if you go into reading this after reading the synopsis you probably will not be as shocked as I was but just be prepared for how disturbing and gory this book becomes. I like darker themed stories and the horror genre quite a lot but this one still grossed me out.
I read it in a single afternoon and can confirm that it was a fast paced read that is as addicting as a bag of chips. You can't read just one page and put the thing down. Once you start you have to keep reading. Despite this there are so many elements of this story that make it hard to recommend whether it be the ritual exorcism, animal mutilation, or any of the other messed up events.
The writing itself was fairly good, occasionally verging on corny in the beginning but Vega maintains the intensity of the tale throughout quite well. There is heavy influence from the movie Mean Girls that is impossible to not notice. After reading some other reviews this bothered some people but I just accepted it and moved on without any issues.
It was not a perfect book by any means, hence my B rating, since there were moments when I could not understand why a character did what they did or had a hard time believing the circumstances of certain situations. If you are looking strictly for entertainment and not the next great American novel then this book is actually pretty good.
Sofia was a likable character. She lives with her mother who is in the military, resulting in their family moving often, and her maternal grandmother. The grandmother suffered from a stroke prior to the beginning of this story and we primarily get to know her through flashbacks Sofia has from their time in Mexico where the family is originally from. The family element was interesting but not overbearing on the mayhem of the rest of the tale.
I definitely recommend reading this one if you are into the horror genre, do not gross out easily, and if you're looking for a scarier exorcist read for near Halloween!
Title: Fierce FairytalesAuthor: Nikita Gill
Page Count: 172
Rating: A
Format Read: NetGalley e ARC
Genre: Poetry and Short Stories
Keywords: Fairytales, Feminism, Life Lessons, Dragons
Kid Appropriate: Preteen and older
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Poet, writer, and Instagram sensation Nikita Gill returns with a collection of fairytales poetically retold for a new generation of women.
Traditional fairytales are rife with cliches and gender stereotypes: beautiful, silent princesses; ugly, jealous, and bitter villainesses; girls who need rescuing; and men who take all the glory.
But in this rousing new prose and poetry collection, Nikita Gill gives Once Upon a Time a much-needed modern makeover. Through her gorgeous reimagining of fairytale classics and spellbinding original tales, she dismantles the old-fashioned tropes that have been ingrained in our minds. In this book, gone are the docile women and male saviors. Instead, lines blur between heroes and villains. You will meet fearless princesses, a new kind of wolf lurking in the concrete jungle, and an independent Gretel who can bring down monsters on her own.
Complete with beautifully hand-drawn illustrations by Gill herself, Fierce Fairytales is an empowering collection of poems and stories for a new generation.
My Review:
I requested this ARC on NetGalley from Hachette Books mostly because I am a fairytale addict and the cover strongly reminded me of the cover for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay. Despite looking forward to reading it, I was completely nervous when I picked up this ARC. First, I have not read much poetry since graduating from college and what I read then was pretty dense. Second, I was afraid that my favorite fairytales from when I was a little girl were about to be completely shredded the way I have seen other writers handle them when going for a modern makeover.
This fear was completely banished as I began to wade my way through the stories and poems. As I was reading the first fifty pages I had a nagging feeling that there was something familiar about what I was reading. Slowly it began to dawn on me. This modern makeover was reminding me of the Fables comic series from Bill Willingham. Instantly my worries were gone and I was excited to see the reimaginings and twists that the tales would take.
Rather than altering the bulk of the tale, there were twists taken on the beginnings and the endings of my favorite stories or small details added or looks into the minds of the characters that we all know so well. I was smiling, laughing, and even tearing up while reading this book.
And there was a good mix of tales from different cultures and mythology. I recognized a lot of the characters I saw but there were a few that I had not heard before that I enjoyed. It didn't feel stale in any way. And even though not every short story or every poem was my favorite, the collection as a whole really resonated with me.
I do not often give books as gifts. Most people I am close to are not avid readers. But, this book was the first time in a long time I wanted to gift one to someone. The stories have something for everyone and I would have loved to receive this and read it as a preteen or teenager even. It has everything that people really deal with from feeling small, to abuse, to eating disorders, to neglectful parents, to lost loved ones, to the pain of first heartbreak. And what I loved was it never felt like this book was preaching something at me, making me want to turn away. Instead it felt like it cared about you. Like reading a friend.
This was an amazing collection that I can't wait to add to my physical library in the near future. It is a work that I think will become incredibly important in so many people's lives. If you are looking for a gift for someone in your life or a treat for yourself I highly recommend checking this one out.
Title: City of LiesAuthor: Sam Hawke
Page Count: 560
Rating: B
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Poison, Family, War
Kid Appropriate: Teens and older
Synopsis from Goodreads:
I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me...
Outwardly, Jovan is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor’s charming, irresponsible Heir. Quiet. Forgettable. In secret, he's a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor’s family from treachery. When the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and an army lays siege to the city, Jovan and his sister Kalina must protect the Heir and save their city-state.
But treachery lurks in every corner, and the ancient spirits of the land are rising...and angry.
My Review:
This book is Sam Hawke's debut novel and the beginning to her Poison War series. I was super excited to see this announced as the September pick for The Name of the Book. Poisoners are always fascinating and high fantasy is my favorite genre so I figured that I couldn't go wrong with this one.
Be warned if you do pick this one up that the first two chapters are long and very slow. They are necessary for setting up the rest of the book but they dragged for sure. Once you get to the end of the second chapter/the beginning of the third the tempo picks up a little bit with some more action and strategy to snag your attention. Unfortunately, this book never reached a point where I found myself flipping through as fast as I could. If anything I ended up skimming large sections of the book simply because they were so slow.
The events that occur early on in the book and certain scenes throughout do give me similar feelings to R.F Kuang's The Poppy War. Certainly don't go in expecting it to be the same but something about the writing style rings similar to me. And of course because of the theme of poison I am reminded in bits of Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.
Each chapter switches perspectives between the brother, Jovan, and the sister, Kalina. While the two sound similar and are not easily distinguished from one another I do find myself preferring Kalina's chapters. What she experiences was just more interesting to me than Jovan's more political storyline.
Also, I was not a huge fan of the romance in this book. It felt a bit stiff and forced rather than like it was something I was hoping would happen.
Overall, I did like this book and remember my reading experience fondly. However, I do not know if I will continue on with the series as this one wrapped up nicely on its own.
If you enjoy slower reads that focus more on politics and scheming than any form of action or intense scenes of warfare, then this is actually a really good book. You will be disappointed if you go in expecting a high fantasy filled with intrigue and amazing fight scenes.
Title: The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate TrophyAuthor: Paige Williams
Page Count: 432
Rating: B-
Format Read: electronic ARC
Genre: Nonfiction
Keywords: Dinosaurs, Legality, Paleontology
Kid Appropriate: If interested in topic
Synopsis from Goodreads:
New Yorker magazine staff writer Paige Williams explores the riveting and perilous world of fossil collectors in this "tremendous" (David Grann) true tale of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--"a triumphant book" (Publishers Weekly) that is "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics" (Rebecca Skloot).
In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million.
Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled.
In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur.
In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.
My Review:
I requested The Dinosaur Artist because I was that kid that watched Jurassic Park repeatedly and told my first grade teacher that I wanted to be a singer and a paleontologist. There was not a doubt in my mind that I was going to love this book. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me.
To be perfectly clear, I do not think this is a bad book or that you should not read it. I was just the wrong audience for this one. I studied museology and anthropology at university, which means that a lot of the information that Williams was presenting throughout the book I had prior knowledge of and found myself tending to skim more than actually wanting to read or being fully engaged.
Who I think that this would be a great book for is someone that is beginning to get interested in paleontology and fossil hunting or maybe has not studied it extensively. Even individuals who have loved ones massively interested in the topic would benefit greatly from picking up this book. For those individuals there is a wealth of knowledge presented clearly in these pages and you would have a good foundation to move onto more complex reads.
Title: The Darkest StarAuthor: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Page Count: 368
Rating: A+
Format Read: electronic ARC
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Keywords: Aliens, Romance, Murder
Kid Appropriate: Teen
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen...but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she'd only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head...
#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the universe of the Lux in this brand new series, featuring beloved characters both new and old.
My Review:
Review will be posted on October 16th, two weeks before publication day per the publisher's request.
Title: Heirs of GraceAuthor: Tim Pratt
Page Count: 286
Rating: B
Format Read: Kindle and Audiobook
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Keywords: Magic, Siblings, Inheritance
Kid Appropriate: No
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Recent art school graduate Bekah thought she'd hit the jackpot: an unknown relative died, and she inherited a small fortune and a huge house in the mountains of North Carolina.
Trey Howard, the lawyer who handled the estate, is a handsome man in his twenties and they hit it off right away-and soon become more than friends. Bekah expected a pleasant year to get her head together and have a romantic fling. Problem is, the house is full of junk...and siblings she didn't know she had are willing to kill her for it.
More important, the junk in her new house is magical, she's surrounded by monsters, and her life seems to be in mortal peril every time she ventures into a new room. As Bekah discovers more about her mysterious benefactor and the magical world he inhabited, she's realizes that as tough and resourceful as she is, she might just be in over her head...
Heirs of Grace is a tale of family and magic, action and wonder, blending the strong heroine, cheeky humor, and dark fantasy that have become the hallmarks of Tim Pratt's writing.
My Review:
As I mentioned in my Friday Reads post from September 21st, this book gave me vague Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris vibes (if that book sounds familiar it's the first in the Sookie Stackhouse series that HBO's True Blood is based on).
The storyline was a little all over the place with outlandish circumstances and unrealistic situations occurring every couple of pages, but if you go in knowing that this is not necessarily a book to be taken seriously and are simply looking for a fun, light read this book could be perfect for you.
Title: #FashionVictimAuthor: Amina Akhtar
Page Count: 268
Rating: D
Format Read: BOTM Hardcover
Genre: Fiction
Keywords: Fashion, Competition, Obsession
Kid Appropriate: Nope
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A darkly thrilling take on the fashion world, #FashionVictim is Heathers meets The Devil Wears Prada.
Fashion editor Anya St. Clair is on the verge of greatness. Her wardrobe is to die for. Her social media is killer. And her career path is littered with the bodies of anyone who got in her way. She’s worked hard to get where she is, but she doesn’t have everything.
Not like Sarah Taft. Anya’s obsession sits one desk away. Beautiful, stylish, and rich, she was born to be a fashion world icon. From her beach-wave blonde hair to her on-trend nail art, she’s a walking editorial spread. And Anya wants to be her friend. Her best friend. Her only friend.
But when Sarah becomes her top competition for a promotion, Anya’s plan to win her friendship goes into overdrive. In order to beat Sarah…she’ll have to become her. Friendly competition may turn fatal, but as they say in fashion: One day you’re in, and the next day you’re dead.
My Review:
I've seen plenty of reviews claiming that this is a thriller and others saying that it is clearly not a thriller, but rather a well done comedy. Honestly, I don't care which it was meant to be this book was a flop for me.
I originally chose this for my September Book of the Month box because I am drawn to unreliable narrators like we see in Caroline Kepnes' You. That book was an absolute masterpiece in terms of drawing you into the mind of someone unstable and feeling both repulsed and intrigued by them. Anya is certainly unreliable but she is also incredibly two dimensional and uninteresting. This is a first person narration and beyond Anya being mentally unstable and liking to wear black clothes at all times I still don't really know much about her or care to learn more. To make this even worse, her actions and impulses became too repetitive to be interesting.
The first 50 pages were the best part of the story with a degree of intrigue and some lines that made me smirk while I was reading. This is where you are introduced to the main cast that will be killed off as well as the fashion industry. After this point the story drags on longer than it needs to with the death toll rising beyond any realistic number that would avoid a greater investigation than the barely existent one we witness in Akhtar's book.
Catty characters with no development and a ludicrous plot makeup the meat of this tale that had a great concept but poor execution.
Title: In the Night WoodAuthor: Dale Bailey
Page Count: 224
Rating: A-
Format Read: Galley
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Keywords: Fairytales, Fae, mystery
Kid Appropriate: No
Expected Publication Day: October 9, 2018
Synopsis from Goodreads:
In this contemporary fantasy, the grieving biographer of a Victorian fantasist finds himself slipping inexorably into the supernatural world that consumed his subject.
American Charles Hayden came to England to forget the past.
Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children's book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow's remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn't dead.
In the neighboring village, Charles meets a woman he might have loved, a child who could have been his own lost daughter, and the ghost of a self he thought he'd put behind him.
And in the primeval forest surrounding Caedmon Hollow's ancestral home, an ancient power is stirring. The horned figure of a long-forgotten king haunts Charles Hayden's dreams. And every morning the fringe of darkling trees presses closer.
Soon enough, Charles will venture into the night wood.
Soon enough he'll learn that the darkness under the trees is but a shadow of the darkness that waits inside us all.
My Review:
The synopsis of this book had me expecting something completely different from what I encountered with this story. That being said I really enjoyed this slower adult fantasy.
At only 224 pages I expected to be able to finish this in a sitting or two. This is not a tale to be sped through. Rather it sits heavily on your mind and is meant to be sipped and savored rather than devoured. Long after putting this book down I would find it creeping back into my mind, its fantastic mix of fantasy, mystery, and family drama drawing me further in.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which Bailey introduced the fantasy elements into this book. They were not overpowering and the degree of certainty, or rather uncertainty, that they truly exist always matches the perspective of Charles as he muddles through his own tale. There is never a feeling of we as readers know more than the main characters of Charles, Elaine, and to a lesser degree Silva.
Another point that I was worried about after I began reading was whether or not the death of Charles and Elaine's daughter would make this an overly heavy, depressing read. At first this was the case but as the story progressed I never felt that the drama and sorrow were overly played out the way that some stories dwell on the death of a child so that there is nothing else. It was an important part of the story, but realistically handled in the way each parent handled their grief and how that does not always look the same even between partners in a relationship.
This would be a perfect read for adult fans of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince or The Darkest Part of the Forest as well as readers looking to recapture the magical writing of Katherine Arden (The Bear and the Nightingale) or Naomi Novik (Spinning Silver and Uprooted).
Author: K. Arsenault RiveraPage Count: 526
Rating: A
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Friendship, Loyalty, Demons
Kid Appropriate: Teens and older
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Even gods can be slain...
Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their prophesied birth, to save the world from the encroaching demons.
This is the story of an infamous Qorin warrior, Barsalayaa Shefali, a spoiled divine warrior empress, O-Shizuka, and a power that can reach through time and space to save a land from a truly insidious evil.
My Review:
I really loved this book. While like City of Lies it was a bit slower, there was a great deal of interest in the characters and their development from small children to grown women. Their relationship unfolds in a natural way (with the exception of a spoiler I will discuss below) and the format of Shefali writing a letter to Shizuka about their own story was entrancing.
In one sitting I read well over 200 pages on one day and did it again the next. The writing style is definitely within the realm of an adult fantasy but it is done in a way that never feels heavy and allows for quick reading, so do not allow the larger page count to deter you.
And while this book reads a bit closer to historical fiction than fantasy at certain times, the inclusion of demons and a folklore of gods added just the right amount of magic to make me fall for this story head over heels.
If you are looking for a solid fantasy series, I recommend beginning here. It is not too heavy for newer fantasy fans and is more focused on the central couple. The world building is more gentle in nature and grows with the maturity of the girls as they grow up and are able to comprehend more.
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