Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

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Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez

Woven in Moonlight
Isabel Ibañez
Page Street Books
Published January 7, 2020

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About Woven in Moonlight

A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.

Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.

When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.

She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.

My Review

I’m kind of a sucker for books that explore post-war relationships between former enemy groups. In this case, they’re still enemies, still at war, but in WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT, Ximena finds the hate she’s nursed for Lllacsans her whole life may be based on things that aren’t true. Or based on only parts of truth.

Her emotional journey as she lives among her enemies really drew me into the story. It was complex and sometimes rough or ugly, but felt so real and understandable. I loved her character and all the layering to it. Condesa. Decoy. Survivor. Weaver. She’s so many things, and it’s really only through seeing all those things about herself that she begins to see what her future could be and what her place in that future would look like.

I kind of have to talk about El Lobo, the masked vigilante. I loved the way those threads were woven into the story. And the scenes where Ximena meets him. I was pretty sure I knew who it was from early on, but I don’t think that detracted anything from the story. I also think the author may have meant for there to be a trail of breadcrumbs, because a few of the clues were pretty pointed. So it was kind of fun feeling like I was figuring out El Lobo’s identity right along with Ximena.

I kind of wish the tapestries had had more of a role in the story. They do have a role, for sure. I guess I wanted there to be more to them – something special they could do. There is something critical to the plot that happens because of them, so it’s not like they were pointless. I loved how creative and unusual they were.

Overall, I loved so many things about this book. I can’t tell from the ending– it might be that there’s a sequel or at least a companion novel to follow? I would love to see more of this story world, and especially would love to know what happens next with Ximena and the Condesa.

If you’re a fan of stories like Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel– put WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT on your list! I think it’s also a great pick for fans of fantasy like The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Characters are POC – this is a Latinx-inspired fantasy.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple instances of swearing in Spanish.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene shows a girl waking with a boy in her bed.

Spiritual Content
Each people worship different gods/goddesses. Ximena worships Luna, a moon goddess, who blesses her weaving. Each character has some kind of magical ability.

Violent Content – trigger warning.
Battle scenes, references to torture and brief descriptions of execution. Some graphic violence described. There is also one scene in which a man gets violent with a woman.

Drug Content
Characters drink wine.

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

Review: The Lost Tide Warriors by Catherine Doyle

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The Lose Tide Warrior (The Storm Keeper’s Island #2)
Catherine Doyle
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published January 14, 2020

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About The Lost Tide Warriors

In the brilliant sequel to The Storm Keeper’s Island, winner of the Books are My Bag Readers Award, Fionn Boyle finds himself at the heart of the fight for the island’s survival.

Fionn Boyle has been Storm Keeper of Arranmore for less than six months when thousands of terrifying Soulstalkers arrive on the island. The empty-eyed followers of the dreaded sorceress, Morrigan have come to raise their leader and Fionn is powerless to stop them. The Storm Keeper’s magic has deserted him and with his grandfather’s memory waning, Fionn must rely on his friends Shelby and Sam to help him summon Dagda’s army of merrows.

But nobody else believes the ferocious sea creatures even exist. And how can he prove he’s right without any magic? As Fionn begins his search for the lost army, the other islanders prepare for invasion. The battle to save Arranmore has begun.

My Review

Oh. My. Gosh. Reading this book, I laughed out loud. I ugly cried. It was a wild ride all the way through, and I loved every minute of it.

While Fionn wrestles with his unresponsive magic and his fears about failing the island, he’s surrounded by spunky, quirky characters. So there’s this constant balance between serious and silly that I thought really worked.

I love the way the whole community was involved in the battle to save the island. This isn’t one of those books where the hero has to go solo despite everyone telling him to go to bed or stop pestering them with prophesies of certain doom. Fionn definitely fights his own battles, but the community rallies around him. I found that really refreshing and awesome.

Altogether, this is a totally worthy sequel to THE STORM KEEPER’S ISLAND, which was one of my favorite books last year. I can tell this is a series I’m going to be talking about and recommending far and wide.

If you liked A SNICKER OF MAGIC by Natalie Lloyd or THREE TIMES LUCKY by Sheila Turnage, or you are breathing and love a good story, please add this series to your reading list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 up.

Representation
Characters are Irish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Two instances of mild profanity, but used more in a classical sense? Like “such and such will damn the island forever.”

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Fionn has been chosen as the island’s new Storm Keeper, which means he should have a kind of elemental magic. He’s also having nightmares in which an evil sorceress visits him. She is awake and gathering followers to her so that they can perform a ritual to raise her. Her followers, called Soul Stalkers are sort of like zombies that gather on the island. Fierce mermaid-like creatures called Merrows are supposed to answer to the Storm Keeper’s call and defeat the Soul Stalkers.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some graphic descriptions of shark-toothed Merrows and Soul Stalkers battling.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball by Scott Lauder and David Ross

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The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball
Scott Lauder and David Ross
Neem Tree Press Limited
Published September 5, 2019

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About The Three Hares: The Jade Dragonball

Sara Livingstone’s school trip to the Beijing Palace Museum takes a terrifying turn when an encounter with the ancient Qingming Scroll thrusts her a thousand years into China’s past. With secrets in the shadows and danger around every corner, Sara relies on her wits and her Granny Tang’s stories to survive. As dark forces gather, she must take her place in a cosmic battle and find the courage to face an unworldly ancient magic.

My Review

I’m a bit confused by this book. I like that it shows two points of view, alternating them in large chunks of the book. I kept waiting for the two to merge in some way, but they didn’t. Both characters were interesting, even easy to identify with. I loved the intrigue that telling both stories side by side created.

The plot was a bit disappointing to me, though. I felt like it sort of restarted a few times through the book. We meet Sara and she has a quest. But then she has a new quest. And then a new, new quest. But I didn’t feel like there was really a clear resolution. A lot gets left hanging on the last page.

It also felt like things sort of came out of nowhere a few times. Suddenly Sara’s going to Ireland. Now she’s applying for a job. Why? What? Where did that come from? Why was it critical to her quest and the story that’s being told here? I didn’t see the connections.

Sometimes that sort of last-page hook really works– doesn’t it seem like every series now has a big hook at the end? (A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY, I’m giving you the side-eye here…) So that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I guess I just expected from the title and the quest set-up that Sara’s journey would be to find the three hares and confront a bad guy of some sort. But that isn’t really the story that THE THREE HARES: THE JADE DRAGONBALL tells.

I really liked the message about respect for ritual and for elders. When Sara is thrust back to ancient China, she faces lots of situations where she must rely on tradition and myth to guide her, and I found that to be a really intriguing theme. It reminded me a bit of THE DRAGON WARRIOR by Katie Zhao.

All in all, THE THREE HARES had some intriguing elements, but I felt it needed a more organized plot to make it a book I’d want to read again. Readers interested in a Chinese setting and mythology will find interesting characters and setting, though.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 12.

Representation
Sara’s mother is Chinese and her father is Scottish. Most other central characters are Chinese.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None. Some kids tease Sara about a boy, but they appear to be just friends.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are gods/goddesses from Chinese mythology.

Violent Content
Brief but violent descriptions of death or inury by a sword. Situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Wickerlight by Mary Watson

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The Wickerlight (The Wren Hunt #2)
Mary Watson
Bloomsbury YA
Published November 26, 2019

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About The Wickerlight

It’s been two months since Laila was found lifeless on Kilshamble village green, not a mark on her. Rumour says she died of an overdose. Or maybe it was suicide? The autopsy found nothing, but somebody must know what happened.

Now Laila’s sister Zara is ready to pick up the trail. But retracing her sister’s footsteps takes her to David, a Judge at the dangerous heart of an ancient magical feud. All too unwittingly, she begins to tread the same path that led her sister to the village green .

Mary Watson’s sequel to THE WREN HUNT is an eerie, magical thriller about a dead girl, her sister and the boy who can unlock the truth of what happened the night she died. Perfect for fans of Frances Hardinge and Emily Bain Murphy’s THE DISAPPEARANCES.

My Review

In the book THE WREN HUNT, the story follows Wren, a young Augur who’s caught in the middle of the war between her people and the Judges, her enemies. THE WICKERLIGHT is told by two people: one of the Judges who hunted Wren named David (and get ready, because there’s so much more to this guy than you thought there was in the first book!) and an outsider named Zara who simply wants to know what happened to her sister.

I had a much easier time connecting with the story this time through– I think maybe because I was already a bit familiar with the story world. I also LOVED getting to see a whole different side of David, who was in the first book. And seeing the community from an outsider’s perspective also gave the story a lot more intrigue, too. Right off the bat, the reader knows so much more than Zara does, and it added a lot of tension to many of the things she did, because we knew the danger she was placing herself in, even when she didn’t.

Some of the other characters from THE WREN HUNT appear in THE WICKERLIGHT, too. Cassa Harkness, Wren, and Tariq all appear on the page here and there. It was cool to read about them again and find out what had happened to them since the end of the first book.

Would I read a third book in this series? Um. YEAH. Especially after the way THE WICKERLIGHT ends, yes, yes, YES! Please tell me more. I can’t wait to dive back into this really delicious, dark Irish storyworld.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Zara and her family are Indian and from Australia. Other characters are Irish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently by one character.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Use of magic and curses.

Violent Content
Some graphic violence and brief scenes of torture.

Drug Content
Some reference to experimentation with drugs.

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

Review: A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

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A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2)
Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published January 7, 2020

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About A Heart So Fierce and Broken

Find the heir, win the crown.
The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.
Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

My Review

I’m still pretty over the moon to have had a chance to read this book before its release date. Thanks, Bloomsbury! You’re the best!

I’d read some other reviews of the book early on that made me a little worried about reading A HEART SO FIERCE AND BROKEN. Mostly, I worried that Rhen would end up being painted as this unlikeable character, and I just really like him, okay?! I didn’t want to lose my ability to like him.

No spoilers, though, so I won’t say more than this: I definitely felt my Team Rhen spirit challenged at times. But at the end of the day, I didn’t find this book to be one that forces you to choose between them. That’s certainly not what Grey wants, anyhow.

So, the real story: did I love it? YES. I loved falling back into the story world. I loved the return of characters from A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY. The new characters took a little getting used to– I wasn’t sure if they were going to trample my old loyalties or make me fall in love with them. I do have some new favorites. (Iisak, for instance.)

One of the things I’ve seen discussed a lot with this book is the very feminist rule of Karis Luran and her people. I liked that there were some conversations between Grey and Lia Mara about gender roles and equality, courtesy and independence. The story explored those ideas in a really natural way and showed that a man can be both courteous toward a woman and respect her as an equal.

I also loved the message that cruelty and strength aren’t the only kind of power. We see it in Emberfall as Rhen wrestles to bring his people back to faith in his rule. We see it as Lia Mara wrestles with her own value, because she’s been taught to believe that her mother’s way– cruelty and strength– are the only way to rule over others, and Lia Mara isn’t good at those things. She has the opportunity to appreciate and value her gifting as a strategist, and her strength of will and determination, even if her family or her people never appreciate those things.

While A HEART SO FIERCE AND BROKEN does continue the story of A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY, it doesn’t continue with a new re-imagined fairy tale (which is fine… just pointing out the difference). It does leave plenty of room for a third book and lots more adventure with characters I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

If you like strong female characters and strong heroes, definitely add A HEART SO FIERCE AND BROKEN to your list. It reminded me a bit of GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson (who wrote a __ of __ and ___ title back before it was cool, I might add.)

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Harper’s brother is gay and in a relationship with a young black doctor. Harper has Cerebral Palsy.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently (usually by Harper’s brother).

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some references to sex.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to use magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and torture (whipping). Characters witness others being killed or wounded. Some brief graphic descriptions.

Drug Content
Some characters drink alcohol and say or do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of A HEART SO FIERCE AND BROKEN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Power of a Princess by E. D. Baker

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Power of a Princess (More Than a Princess #2)
E. D. Baker
Bloomsbury USA Kids
Published November 19, 2019

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About Power of a Princess

From beloved author E.D. Baker, an adventurous tale about a princess who is more than what she seems — and a kingdom whose fate rests in her hands.

Aislin is more than just a princess. Born to a fairy king and pedrasi queen, she’s strong, smart, and brave, with magical gifts she’s only beginning to discover. Aislin has spent her whole life keeping her family’s gifts hidden from the non-magic folk who surround her kingdom, and is shocked to find out the humans knew about these enchantments all along. But when the fairies decide to move back onto human territory, it soon becomes clear that some will not be happy about this change.

As she sets out to restore the balance, Aislin chooses a surprising group of young women to join her – girls she knows are brave and loyal, but who don’t have the qualities of typical guards or princess confidantes. Things only get more complicated when an old foe appears, surely up to no good. The princess knows she has the power and ingenuity to stand up for herself and her kingdom, especially with her friends by her side – will that be enough to set things right?

E. D. Baker is the author of many beloved books for young readers, including THE FROG PRINCESS, which was the inspiration for Disney’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. A classic and original fairy tale that celebrates goodness in all shapes and sizes, MORE THAN A PRINCESS will resonate with readers who love magic, suspense, girl power, and adventure.

My Review

Right before I read POWER OF A PRINCESS , I read THE GIRL WHO FLEW WITH DRAGONS, which has a lot of adventure and action in it. By contrast, POWER OF A PRINCESS is a lot more of an internal story. There’s still action, but a lot of things happen through Aislin puzzling them out in her mind or through dialogue with others, so the pacing is very gentle.

The story is also very family-oriented. Aislin spends time with her parents and grandparents, and it’s clear she has close relationships with all of them and that they’re all a positive influence in her life.

POWER OF A PRINCESS also explores some ideas about isolationism and how it can cause harm by increasing fear of an outside group. Aislin and her family must decide how to respond to the fears of their people and rumors that circulate based on those fears.

I think this book would be a great pick for a more sensitive reader or someone looking for a thoughtful read. Also check out my review of THE FROG PRINCESS RETURNS by E. D. Baker.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12

Representation
Aislin is elf and pedrasi (a cave-dwelling group with stone-based magic).

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Use of magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. No graphic violence.

Drug Content
None.

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