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Review: Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis

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Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis

Bid My Soul Farewell (Give the Dark My Love #2)
Beth Revis
Razorbill
Published September 24, 2019

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About Bid My Soul Farewell

The stunning finale of the epic fantasy duology from New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis.

Alchemy student turned necromancer Nedra Brysstain has made a life-changing decision to embrace the darkness–but can the boy who loves her bring her back to the light before she pays the ultimate price?

Lunar Island is trying to heal. The necromantic plague that ravaged the land has been eradicated, and Emperor Auguste, the young and charming leader of the Allyrian Empire, has a plan: rid the island of necromancy once and for all. Though Greggori “Grey” Astor wants what’s best for his people, he knows that allying himself with Auguste threatens the one person he loves most: necromancer Nedra Brysstain. Feeling like he already failed to save Nedra once, Grey becomes determined to help the Emperor rebuild Lunar Island while still keeping Nedra safe from harm.

Back at the quarantine hospital, Nedra’s army of revenants are growing increasingly inhuman by the day. Wracked with guilt for imprisoning their souls, Nedra vows to discover a way to free the dead while still keeping her sister by her side.

But, still reeling from the trauma of the plague, the people of Lunar Island are looking for someone to blame, and Grey can only protect Nedra for so long. And when Nedra and Grey are thrust into a battle with an even more terrifying adversary, Nedra will be pushed to the darkest depths of her necromantic powers. But can Grey let her go that far?

My Review

This was the first book I read after having my miscarriage in December. I had been meaning to read it for a while, but it seemed like it was going to be dark and have a lot of grief in it, since Nedra loses so much in the first book. I picked it up just before Christmas and looked at the cover and thought, yep, she looks about how I feel. And I knew it was the right time to read it.

So many things about this book really met me where I was. I totally identified with both Nedra’s grief and her desperation to somehow bring back the sister she’d lost. Her frustration with the people around her who just didn’t understand where she was coming from emotionally totally resonated with me. And the way it complicated her relationship with Grey– who loved her every minute of her journey, but had to find his own way to heal, and also couldn’t support some of the things she was doing felt so real to me, too.

It IS a bit of a dark read. The people in Nedra’s colony are recovering from a plague that left many people dead and many more amputee survivors. Nedra desperately wants to find a way to bring her sister back from the dead. Grey wants to help the people who’ve been overlooked by the government and he wants to protect Nedra, too.

Even though it’s dark, I really needed this book and I’m so glad I was able to read it right now. Sometimes a book is perfect for a certain time in your life, and I feel like I found this one at exactly the right moment.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Nedra is an amputee. Her sister was bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used once.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene shows a woman undressing in front of her lover and then the lead up to them having sex. It’s suggested that they are intimate again after that but nothing happens in scene.

Spiritual Content
Nedra believes in the god Oryous, and visits a temple. Grey has grown up with religious traditions but doesn’t have a personal connection to them or personal faith.

Nedra learns to see and have some control of the souls of others as part of her powers of necromancy. As her power grows, a darkness in her grows, too.

Violent Content
Some brief descriptions of battle and the aftermath of battle, including some graphic descriptions of gore.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.

Review: Brother’s Keeper by Julie Lee

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Brother’s Keeper
Julie Lee
Holiday House
Published July 21, 2020

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About Brother’s Keeper

North Korea. December, 1950.

Twelve-year-old Sora and her family live under an iron set of rules: No travel without a permit. No criticism of the government. No absences from Communist meetings. Wear red. Hang pictures of the Great Leader. Don’t trust your neighbors. Don’t speak your mind. You are being watched.

But war is coming, war between North and South Korea, between the Soviets and the Americans. War causes chaos–and war is the perfect time to escape. The plan is simple: Sora and her family will walk hundreds of miles to the South Korean city of Busan from their tiny mountain village. They just need to avoid napalm, frostbite, border guards, and enemy soldiers.

But they can’t. And when an incendiary bombing changes everything, Sora and her little brother Young will have to get to Busan on their own. Can a twelve-year-old girl and her eight-year-old brother survive three hundred miles of war zone in winter?

My Review

As I started to read BROTHER’S KEEPER, I worried about how dark it would be. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle it. And I won’t lie, some scenes were hard because they were so heartbreaking.

What I loved, though, was Sora’s resourcefulness and her will to survive. I loved her love for books and stories and the hope she continually kindled inside of her that she would see her family again.

BROTHER’S KEEPER doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of war. But through the struggles and bitter coldness of winter, the love between Sora and her brother and their hope for the future shine so brightly. I’m so glad I read this book.

If you like raw, gripping historical novels by Ruta Sepetys (though those are aimed at a slightly older audience) or EVERY FALLING STAR by Sunju Lee and Elizabeth McClelland, please check out BROTHER’S KEEPER.

Content Notes for Brother’s Keeper

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
All named characters are North or South Korean.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Sora and her family are Christians. They’ve been forbidden to practice their faith but have a Bible hidden in their home.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of civilians, including children being shot or bombed. One very brief scene shows domestic violence. In one scene, two children fall through the ice into a freezing river and die.

Drug Content
Some mentions of adults drinking alcohol.

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

Review: Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer

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Into the Heartless Wood
Joanna Ruth Meyer
Page Street Kids
Published January 12, 2021

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About Into the Heartless Woods

The forest is a dangerous place, where siren song lures men and women to their deaths. For centuries, a witch has harvested souls to feed the heartless tree, using its power to grow her domain.

When Owen Merrick is lured into the witch’s wood, one of her tree-siren daughters, Seren, saves his life instead of ending it. Every night, he climbs over the garden wall to see her, and every night her longing to become human deepens. But a shift in the stars foretells a dangerous curse, and Seren’s quest to become human will lead them into an ancient war raging between the witch and the king who is trying to stop her.

Epic, heartbreaking, and darkly atmospheric, Into the Heartless Wood is the story of impossible love between a monstrous tree siren and a boy who lives at the edge of her wood.

My Review

I feel like the back cover copy, shown above, for this book is a great summary of the story. Now that I read it after having read the whole book, it feels like it is packed with a lot of hints at things that I didn’t see until I read the book. Which is pretty cool, actually.

When I read the first page of the book, which I did really just to gauge how much I might like it, I found I couldn’t stop reading. I think I read the first forty pages or so just sitting on the edge of my bed, without actually taking a minute to get comfortable.

The whole story hit me like that. I felt like I needed to keep drinking it in, line by line, as quickly as I could, all the way to the very last page.

I loved it. Owen’s gentle spirit. His mischievous little sister. Seren’s terrible strength and her longing to not be a monster any longer. The transformative power of love and the destructive power of betrayal. The healing power of a little kindness. I loved the hints of gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast. (Aha. See? I got you there, didn’t I?)

As I’m writing this review, I’ve only just finished reading maybe an hour ago, and I still feel like I’m buzzing with all the adrenaline from those last chapters. It’s so good. INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD is definitely a must-read book for this year!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most human characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. Vague reference to sex.

Spiritual Content
Human souls can be collected and used as a source of great power. A witch uses magic to create beings who enchant humans. The trees in a magical wood are aware and dangerous.

Violent Content
Multiple scenes show the brutal murder of multiple people. Sometimes the description is pretty brief, but other times it’s more drawn out. A few scenes show torture or an enemy causing terrible injuries. A mother character is particularly brutal to one of her daughters.

Drug Content
Owen drinks liquor from a flask to numb him before a medical procedure.

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

Review: You Have a Match by Emma Lord

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You Have a Match
Emma Lord
Wednesday Books
Published January 12, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About You Have a Match

When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.

When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents—especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones.

My Review

It would have been super easy to read this book all in one sitting. I made myself pause about 75 pages from the end because it was WAYYY late at night and I have a toddler who does not see a book hangover as a reasonable excuse for not being up and chipper first thing in the morning. So basically, I finished reading while she ate breakfast the next morning. Ha.

I loved this book so much, though. I’m a HUGE fan of sister books, and I loved the connection (and all its messy, complicated glory) between Abby and Savannah. One of the things that stands out to me as amazing are the scenes in which lots of people are talking. I think it’s really hard to do those well. Lots of times when I read them, they’re confusing or don’t sound organic, but Emma Lord totally nailed those. They sounded exactly like the chaotic, hilarious conversations that happen when you get a bunch of people who know each other well all talking and telling stories. I loved those scenes so much.

Also, I thought the balance between the focus on Abby’s relationship with Savannah and her relationship with Leo was perfect. I love that Abby ended up being faced with needing to speak up and not be passive and that that was echoed in all these relationships and situations in her life. I loved how transformative summer camp was for her, too.

Honestly, I’m hard-pressed to find anything I didn’t love about You Have a Match. It made me laugh. It also made me cry in that deep, I-see-you kind of feeling that you get when you read about grief and it feels so familiar.

Anyway, all that to say, if you’re a fan of Emma Mills’ THIS ADVENTURE ENDS or a lover of summer camp stories, please check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Abby’s friend Leo and his sister Filipino-American and adopted. Abby’s sister is in a relationship with another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls and kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A couple people fall and get injured.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

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Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2)
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press
Published September 17, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About DREAM THIEVES

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.

One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.

And sometimes he’s not the only one who wants those things.

Ronan is one of the raven boys – a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan’s secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface – changing everything in its wake.

Of THE RAVEN BOYS, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY wrote, “Maggie Stiefvater’s can’t-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two.” Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.

My Review

This series is one I return to again and again to listen to the audiobooks, because I LOVE listening to Will Patton read the story. So I’ve probably listened to DREAM THIEVES at least three times, but somehow I hadn’t reviewed it until now. I think I kept getting lost in the story and forgetting to make notes on the content for the review.

At any rate, it’s probably obvious that I enjoy the story, since I keep reading it. I love the tension between Blue and Gansey. And I love going with Ronan into his dreams. I’m always fascinated with him as a character because he’s so angry but somehow so loveable? Maybe because he’s so loyal underneath his grouchy exterior. He’s trying to figure things out, to fix things that have been broken either by him or someone else, and I love those things about him.

Gansey’s sister Helen is also one of my favorites. I think I would totally read a spin-off series or fan fiction where she’s the main character. She’s efficient and brilliant, all sharp observations and quick problem-solving. I love it.

On the whole, I think DREAM THIEVES might be my favorite book in the series. I haven’t read CALL DOWN THE HAWK yet, but I love Ronan’s character, and I got a copy of the book recently, so I suspect I’ll be checking it out soon.

Check out my reviews of other RAVEN CYCLE books.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
There are hints that one character is gay, but nothing overtly confirmed in this book.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to kissing between boy and girl. One embrace which is full of tension. Some intense kissing between man and woman and references to going to bed together.

Spiritual Content
Blue’s mother and her housemates are all psychics with varying areas of specialty. They do tarot card readings. They read objects and can tell things about them.

Ronan is Catholic and attends church with his brothers. Ronan can also take objects from his dreams.

Gansey is searching for a fabled king who, legend says, will grant a wish to whoever finds him. Adam has agreed to serve as the hands and eyes of a magical forest. (No one is exactly sure what this truly means, but it’s obvious that he’s changed by this promise.)

Violent Content
Fighting between boys. Monsters follow Ronan from his dream into reality and attack him and his friend. A hired assassin beats up Ronan’s brother (not shown) and later attacks other men. A boy sets cars on fire.

Drug Content
Ronan and another boy drink alcohol and take pills. The other boy seems to do other drugs, too. Adam drinks at a party– at first he thinks it’s ginger ale, and then later things he’s been given champagne.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

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We Hunt the Flame
Hafsah Faizal
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published May 14, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About We Hunt the Flame

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, WE HUNT THE FLAME is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

My Review

I read some conflicting reviews of this book before actually sitting down to read it myself, so I was pretty nervous about reading it.

Turns out I didn’t need to worry, though, because I enjoyed the story a lot. The very beginning basically reminded me of what I’d hoped A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES would be. (I DNF’d that book because I couldn’t get past the family dynamics between the main character and her sisters and father. I know, tons of people love the series… it just isn’t for me.)

I’m a huge fan of those angsty heroes who, against all odds, still want to do the right thing. I felt like Nasir hit all those notes for me. He’s an assassin, made to be a cold, unfeeling weapon, and yet, he’s so human and so vulnerable underneath his chilling exterior.

Zafira is tough and smart, and she also feels like she has to put aside her emotions in order to succeed at her quest. But is she stronger without her emotions, really? I love stories that explore those kinds of questions, and WE HUNT THE FLAME totally satisfied on that exploration.

For some reason, though, I didn’t expect it to be an ensemble cast. I assumed that at some point Zafira and Nasir would make a necessary but uneasy alliance but that it would be just the two of them. At first I didn’t invest in the rest of the team because I didn’t expect them to be around long. But as I got to know them, I liked them more and more. (It took me the longest to warm up to Altair, but by the end, I am solidly a fan, and I need to know what happens to him next!)

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were deep and engaging, and the story of a land cursed and the quest to break that curse and return magic to the people definitely hooked me. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series, WE FREE THE STARS, which is currently scheduled to come out in January 2021. I think readers who enjoyed SIX OF CROWS or AN EMBER IN THE ASHES will love this one.

Content Notes for We Hunt the Flame

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Set in a fantasy world inspired by ancient Arabia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some faux curses like, “Skies.” Some curses in Arabic used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Strong sexual tension– lots of meaningful glances and obvious attraction. Some sensual kissing.

Spiritual Content
Lots of magic. Six sisters with powerful magic once ruled the kingdom, including one who imprisoned evil on an island. On that island there are creatures who impersonate people to trick or confuse Zafira and Nasir and their allies. Shadows and dark make up some magic. A powerful magical being appears to be possessing and controlling someone else.

Violent Content
Scenes show combat between Zaphira, Nasir and their allies and others. Some descriptions of torture that Nasir endured at the hands of his father and an enemy. Brief descriptions of torture.

Drug Content
Some social alcohol drinking.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.