Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman

Up All Night: 13 Stories Between Sunset and Sunrise
Edited by Laura Silverman
Algonquin Young Readers
Published July 13, 2021

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About Up All Night

When everyone else goes to bed, the ones who stay up feel like they’re the only people in the world. As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible.

It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love—for finding yourself.

Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep into these rarely seen, magical hours.

Full contributor list: Brandy Colbert, Kathleen Glasgow, Maurene Goo, Tiffany D. Jackson, Amanda Joy, Nina LaCour, Karen M. McManus, Anna Meriano, Marieke Nijkamp, Laura Silverman, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters, Francesca Zappia.

My Review

I’ve read stories by about a third of the authors with stories in this book. Lots more of them have been on my TBR list for a long time, so I was excited to read this collection in order to sample some of those authors and some new ones, too. Here’s what I thought about some of my favorites from UP ALL NIGHT:

“Under Our Masks” by Julian Winters

This is the first time I’ve read anything by Julian Winters, and I feel like I’ve been missing out. I loved this casual super hero story. In just a few pages, I felt like I knew the characters and had a sense of the city where they were. I also loved the anticipation as it built up toward the end of the story.

“Missing” by Kathleen Glasgow

I feel like I’m kind of on a roll with Kathleen Glasgow’s storytelling. I just finished THE AGATHAS, which I loved, and YOU’D BE HOME NOW tore out my heart in the best possible ways. So my expectations for her work were really high, and this story absolutely delivered for me. It’s intense, creepy, and powerful. I think it’s my favorite from the whole collection.

“Old Rifts and Snowdrifts” by Kayla Whaley

This story took advantage of some of my favorite romance tropes and centered them around a wheelchair-bound character. I loved the aching romance and the swirling snowstorm blanketing the world outside the flower shop. Also, it was a perfect nighttime, snowed-in-together story.

“The Ghost of Goon Creek” by Francesca Zappia

This is another one that had expert setup, so that in just a few words, I felt like I knew the main character and could understand how she felt about a troop of outsiders stomping through a grief-bound tradition of hers. And yet… I loved watching the relationships morph and change, and seeing her realize she had an opportunity for new friendships, and to wrestle with how to move into that. Great stuff. I loved this one, too. Francesca Zappia is another author that I am new to, but now really want to read more of.

I liked lots of the other stories in this collection, too. The first couple were the weakest for me in terms of hooking me into reading, but there are so many really good ones here. I’m super glad I had a chance to read UP ALL NIGHT.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Rep varies per story, but the collection is pretty diverse, featuring LGBT+, black, Latinx, and disabled characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Varies per story. Extreme profanity appears in some stories, used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl. Kiss between two boys.

Spiritual Content
One story features ghosts. Another features legends about a ghost.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. In one story, girls explore an abandoned mental institution and face danger and harm.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol in at least one story.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Earnshaw

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

A Wilderness of Stars
Shea Earnshaw
Simon & Schuster
Published November 29, 2022

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About A Wilderness of Stars

In this magical romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep, a mysterious illness cursing the land forces a teen girl astronomer to venture across the wilderness in search of the stars’ message that will, hopefully, save them all.

If magic lives anywhere, it’s in the stars…

​Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But after her mother dies, Vega begins to see stars falling from the sky. It’s an omen she can no longer ignore, forcing her to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. But the outside world turns out to be much more terrifying than Vega could have imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.

What Vega keeps to herself is that she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from generation to generation—and she is the only one who carries the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to the cure. And so when locals spot the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an astronomer—chaos erupts as the threats her mother warned her about become all too real.

Fearing for her life, Vega will be rescued by a girl named Cricket who will lead her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos. On the run from the men who are hunting her, Vega, Cricket, and Noah will set out across the plains in search of the cure the stars speak of. But as the lines between friend and prisoner begin to blur, Vega must decide whether she will protect the sacred knowledge of an astronomer. Or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.

My Review

I liked a lot of things about this book. The writing is really cool. It’s a little bit artistic, but not so flowery that the story doesn’t feel real, if that makes any sense. It has a post-apocalyptic feel that reminded me a little of THE BALLAD OF DINAH CALDWELL.

The characters sometimes tripped me up, though. At one point, two girls are running from a group of men who seem intent on severely harming them, and they keep passing a bottle of liquor back and forth between them and drinking it. I was confused because it didn’t seem like something that someone in fear of their life would do. Drinking is going to dehydrate you and slow you down, which both seem like bad things?? So I was confused.

There’s also a thing about Vega’s tattoos needing to be covered. She decides to leave her hair down and move carefully so that her hair doesn’t expose her tattoo. I kept thinking she should use a scarf or something more reliable. She believes her life is in danger, and she’s trusting her hair not to move? That seemed a little strange to me. If she explained that she couldn’t wear a scarf without calling more attention to herself or arousing suspicion, that would have made more sense. She’s in several dangerous situations where she depends only on her hair, so I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I will say that the way the story unfolds was really cool. There were things I looked forward to happening, and when they did, that was super satisfying. There were other things I did not predict that kind of blew my mind.

All in all, I would say I still enjoyed the book. I wish some of the little things were explained better or made more sense, but on the whole, I loved Vega, Noah, and Cricket so much. And I loved the directions the overall story went, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
I’m not sure of the representation in the story. Some of the character descriptions were a little bit confusing to me. At least one minor character is described as having copper skin and curly hair.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, they undress in front of one another and kiss. It’s hinted that they have sex as well.

Spiritual Content
Vega tells some of the mythological stories behind the constellations in the sky.

A group of people believe that the last Astronomer can cure the plague that is killing people.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A violent band of men terrorize people, executing anyone who doesn’t cooperate with them, charging money from all businesses for “protection.” Descriptions of battle and gun fatalities. A man interrogates someone, preparing to torture them.

Drug Content
Teen characters drink alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of A WILDERNESS OF STARS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Bitterwine Oath by Hannah West

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Bitterwine Oath
Hannah West
Holiday House
Published December 1, 2020

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About Bitterwine Oath

Every fifty years, a cult claims twelve men to murder in a small Texas town. Can one girl end the cycle of violence – and save the boy who broke her heart?

San Solano, Texas, is a quaint town known for its charm, hospitality, and history of murder. Twice now, twelve men have been brutally killed, and no one knows who did it. A shadowy witch? A copycat killer? Or a man-hating murderess?

Eighteen-year-old Natalie Colter is sure that the rumors about her great-great-grandmother’s cult of wronged women are just gossip, but that doesn’t stop the true-crime writers and dark tourism bloggers from capitalizing on the town’s reputation. It’s an urban legend that’s hard to ignore, and it gets harder when Nat learns that the sisterhood is real. And magical. And they want her to join.

The more Nat learns of the Wardens’ supernatural history, the more she wonders about the real culprits behind the town’s ritualistic murders. Are the Wardens protecting San Solano from even darker forces? There are shadows in the woods, bones on the outskirts of town, and questions Nat needs answered.

But everything becomes more urgent when people start getting marked as new victims–including Levi Langford, the boy whose kiss haunted Nat for a year. With Levi in danger, doing nothing would be harder than fighting back.

Nat knows that no one is safe. Can she and the sisterhood stop the true evil from claiming their town?

My Review

I went on a bit of a paranormal kick this year, so this is a book I agreed to read while I was kind of in that mindset. I liked the idea of a sisterhood taking on a decades old curse in a small town, and I think the author really delivered on all those concepts.

Nat is a neat character– I liked that she keeps herself a little bit apart from her friends. She has some secrets, just things she isn’t ready to talk about yet. I found that really relatable. I also liked the back and forth between her and Levi. It’s not banter, but I definitely got the sense that they were locked in some kind of emotional thing. Not adversarial, but not exactly friendly either. So that hooked my curiosity right away.

Some elements of the book reminded me a bit of things I loved about THE LUMINARIES. It’s not exactly the same kind of story, but it does have some similarities: an elite team of warriors taking on monsters that the rest of humanity can’t see or know about; a small exclusive town; a complicated friendship-slash-maybe-romance. So all those things were big wins for me, too.

I think readers who enjoyed THE LUMINARIES definitely want to try this one. I am really glad I read it, and will definitely have to check out other things by Hannah West.

Content Notes for The Bitterwine Oath

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The curse began when four girls used magic to ask for revenge against men who’d wronged them. The magic revisits the town every fifty years, claiming twelve new victims.

Nat learns that the magic still exists, and that a coven of women use it to fight back against the cursed magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence. In one scene, a pet is found injured. Several scenes show animal carcasses or bones. Several scenes show creatures made of bones and carcasses attacking people.

Drug Content
References to teens drinking beer.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BITTERWINE OATH in exchange for my honest review.


Review: A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

A Thousand Heartbeats
Kiera Cass
HarperTeen
Published November 29, 2022

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About A Thousand Heartbeats

“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”

Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.

Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.

But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart.

Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets.

Geeking Out

It took me by surprise when the publisher offered me a review copy of this book– I was pretty over the moon, honestly.

It’s been a while since I read anything by Kiera Cass, but I’ve recommended her books to some teen readers. I remember good things about The Selection series, though I’ve only read the first three books in the series.

This book struck me as kind of having America/Aspen vibes– it’s a completely different story, nothing like The Selection series, but I guess the princess and soldier romance maybe triggered that thought?

Anyway. This is a LONG book at a little over 550 pages, which I found really intimidating at first. I tend to avoid long books because I try to read so many titles. I probably still would have agreed to review it even if I’d known it was so long. It’s Kiera Cass, y’all. How can I say no?

My Review

Okay, so the book. I liked Annika and found some things about her character really compelling. She’s all about justice and fairness. But there’s definitely kind of a weird self-sacrificial thing about her that kind of… made me sad? I don’t know. Like, I feel like she tended to divide things into two possible outcomes: either she could be happy and everyone else miserable, or everyone else could be happy while she was miserable.

There were definitely some conflicts that split themselves that way where those were legit her only options. But it felt like she tended to view all conflicts that way.

Lennox… That guy took me on a journey. At certain moments, I did not think I could like him. He serves his leader as a kind of enforcer, doing the dirty tasks that no one else wants, but have been decreed to be done. It takes him a long time to realize his own worth and even longer to really decide what to do about it.

I will say that early in the story, we learn that Lennox has done something Annika finds unforgivable. (And I agreed with her.) I wasn’t sure how the story was going to lead us around that fact and build a believable romance. In my opinion, Kiera Cass did a pretty good job at that, though.

Romance aside, I did struggle with some of the other story elements. For example, at one point, a hurricane descends on two battling forces. It’s described as basically a wall of rain approaching with winds so strong they rip trees from the ground. I was like, okay, is this a hurricane or a tornado? Because the thing about a hurricane is that it’s approach weather-wise is more gradual. Winds picking up. Periodic raining. Gaps in between where things slow a little bit. Then, like birth labor, the gaps get shorter and the wind and rain get stronger until the storm reaches its maximum.

Anyway, that’s my experience from the hurricanes I’ve weathered as a native Floridian. So the abrupt arrival of the hurricane kind of took me out of the story a bit. There’s also an earthquake in the middle of the hurricane, which was odd? But okay. The bigger thing was that both armies had arrived at the battle site via ships, and it appeared that the ships were okay after the hurricane forces so strong that trees were ripped from the ground.

In the grand scheme of the plot, those were minor details. But there were things kind of like that at different points throughout the book. Just little things that didn’t make sense.

The romance is absolutely the selling point of the story, so I think readers who pick up this book for a sweet, star-crossed love story will get exactly what they came for. I think fans of Kiera Cass’s earlier novels will enjoy getting carried away in another princess romance.

Content Notes

Content warning for references to torture and physical/emotional abuse.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A boy and girl spend the night together a couple of times. It’s hinted that they just sleep next to one another.

In one scene, a girl strips down to her underwear so she can escape from a prison cell.

Spiritual Content
Annika speaks to a portrait of her mother, keeping a connection to her mother who has been missing for years. Lennox speaks to someone in an unmarked grave.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. References to torture. References to physical and emotional abuse.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of A THOUSAND HEARTBEATS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Moongarden: Plotting the Stars by Michelle A. Barry

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Sci-Fi, , , , , , , ,

Moongarden: Plotting the Stars
Michelle A. Barry
Pixel + Ink Books
Published November 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Moongarden

The Secret Garden meets The City of Ember as an unlikely heroine confronts loneliness and crippling parental expectations, finding her seed of courage to weed out an intergalactic government conspiracy tied to failed climate change policy in this STEM-inspired series starter.

Centuries ago, Earth’s plants turned toxic, rendering life on the planet impossible, and humanity took to space to cultivate new homes. Myra Porter is in her first year at an elite school on the Moon to train and develop her Creer in math as a Number Whisper—like her famous Number Whisperer parents. But she’s crumbling under the pressure, she doesn’t fit in, and worst of all, the tattoos that signal her Creer growing aren’t developing. In her heart, she knows she doesn’t have a Creer, and soon, everyone else will, too.

My Review

I can definitely see the comparison to THE SECRET GARDEN and CITY OF EMBER in this book. I think I kept wishing for more overlap with THE SECRET GARDEN, though. Like, I kept looking for or hoping for my favorite things about that story to be included in this book. There are a few things that made it into MOONGARDEN, though.

In THE SECRET GARDEN, the main character, Mary, follows a robin who leads her to the garden. In MOONGARDEN, a small robot Myra names Bin-ro, taken from the ID label on its underside, leads her to a hidden garden. I really enjoyed the parts with his character. There’s also an older man who was once a gardener who helps her, like Ben from the original story.

Just like in CITY OF EMBER, Myra and her friends discover a cover-up that could indicate their whole civilization is in danger. She also discovers forgotten and forbidden magic that could save everyone.

So there are a lot of really cool elements to the story, and I thought all of those elements worked well together.

I guess I kind of have mixed feelings about the main character, Myra. There were things I liked about her a lot. She doesn’t back down when she believes in something, even if the idea is unpopular. That stubbornness sometimes frustrated me, though. Maybe I wanted to see the garden have an effect on her the way it does Mary in THE SECRET GARDEN? I’m not sure what I hoped for there.

On the whole, I love that this is a middle grade sci-fi novel, and I think readers who liked CITY OF EMBER should check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
One character, Bernie, is a clone and has fewer rights/isn’t seen as truly human. Lila, Myra’s friend and roommate is described as having brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Most characters have a certain affinity for magic.

Violent Content
Some instances of bullying.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of MOONGARDEN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere by Jaclyn Moriarty

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar From Elsewhere
Jaclyn Moriarty
Allen & Unwin
Published November 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere

Let me get this straight. I’m on a trip with the following people:
1) Bronte, a girl who makes magical ‘Spellbinding’ rings,
2) Alejandro, a former pirate/current prince who can shoot arrows and make fire from stones,
3) Imogen, who can read broken maps and is a kickboxing master,
4) Esther, who saved her entire world from some kind of ancient monster,
5) Astrid, a smart ten year old who can read minds, and
6) Gruffudd, a surprisingly speedy (and always hungry) Elf.

And who am I? Just a kid who skips school to ride a skateboard.

The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere is the account of Monday through Friday of last week. That’s when Oscar found himself on a quest to locate nine separate pieces of a key, held by nine separate people, in order to unlock a gluggy silver spell that had trapped the Elven city of Dun-sorey-lo-vay-lo-hey. The quest was an urgent one. Friday at noon, the spell would become permanent, the Elves would be crushed to death and Oscar would be trapped in this magical world forever. (The account, it should be noted, has been written at the request of a small public school’s Deputy Principal. She wants to know exactly what Oscar considered more important than coming to school last week.)

From the award-winning Jaclyn Moriarty comes an enchanting tale of cryptic challenges, breathtaking danger and 360 kick flips.

My Review

Years ago I read A CORNER OF WHITE by Jaclyn Moriarty, and I remember really liking her writing style and the way that her characters have a lot going on inside them. It was also a portal book, so I figured another portal book by Moriarty would be a good idea.

And it was. Just like her other book, I found this one to have a great cast of characters. I enjoyed the banter and layered emotions between them. Though it’s the fourth book in the series, I didn’t have any trouble following what was happening. There are some references to events that happened before this book began, some of them from previous books in the series, but they were explained well enough for me to follow. This adventure features characters from earlier books in the series, but it’s a pretty self-contained adventure.

The only thing I wish had been a little different is that the characters had many conversations or arguments. They were always quippy and fun, so the scenes weren’t boring. I guess after a while, it didn’t feel fresh anymore? Despite that, I still enjoyed the conversations between the characters.

I think readers who enjoy portal books, especially books about magical quests, will find a lot to love in this book. The storytelling is pretty gentle, but there’s a lot of humor and fun.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Oscar is Australian. The other characters are from made up places. At least one is described as having bronze skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. Some use it to cause harm, and others use it for protection.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One battle scene.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE ASTONISHING CHRONICLES OF OSCAR FROM ELSEWHERE in exchange for my honest review.