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Review: Cattywampus by Ash Van Otterloo

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Cattywampus by Ash Van Otterloo

Cattywampus
Ash Van Otterloo
Scholastic
Published August 4, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Cattywampus

The magical story of a hex that goes haywire, and the power of friendship to set things right!

In the town of Howler’s Hollow, conjuring magic is strictly off-limits. Only nothing makes Delpha McGill’s skin crawl more than rules. So when she finds her family’s secret book of hexes, she’s itching to use it to banish her mama’s money troubles. She just has to keep it quiet as the grave — not exactly Delpha’s specialty.

Trouble is, Katybird Hearn is hankering to get her hands on the spell book, too. The daughter of a rival witching family, Katy has reasons of her own for wanting to learn forbidden magic, and she’s not going to let an age-old feud or Delpha’s contrary ways stop her. But their quarrel accidentally unleashes a hex so heinous it resurrects a cemetery full of angry Hearn and McGill ancestors bent on total destruction. If Delpha and Katy want to reverse the spell in time to save everyone in the Hollow from rampaging zombies, they’ll need to mend fences and work together.

My Review

I started reading this book because Natalie at Literary Rambles mentioned it as one of her favorites from 2020, so it’s been on my reading list since then! When Barnes & Noble had their 25% off pre-order sale, I picked up a paperback copy of CATTYWAMPUS, and I’ve finally been able to read it.

It took me a couple tries to get into the story. I can’t figure out why. I really enjoyed what I was reading– the southern expressions and deep North Carolina vibe are things that generally excite me about a story. I loved both Katybird and Delpha. I think Katy became my favorite by the end of the book, though. Her struggle to accept her magic and overcome her fears was super moving.

Tyler was also a favorite for me. He’s this sweet, sort of nerdy boy with two moms who kind of winds up right in the middle of Delpha and Katy’s mess and winds up helping them in some unexpected ways. I loved that and the stuff about his uncle and the way that Delpha connected with him.

Once I got to the part with the zombies, I was pretty hooked on this book. I loved all the chaos in the midst of the small town, spring festival setting. There are great characters and so many quirky, fun moments in this book. It’s also got tons of heart as both main characters have to face some fears and hurts and learn to form new relationships with people.

I think readers who enjoy southern fiction plus magic would definitely love this one. If you liked A SNICKER OF MAGIC by Natalie Lloyd, try CATTYWAMPUS.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Katybird has angroden insensitivity syndrome, meaning she has one X and one Y chromosome, but her body is resistant to male hormones, so she has physical traits of a female and identifies as female.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Characters have the ability to do magic. There are also werewolf-type characters called Snarly Yows and some zombies bent on destroying anyone in the families they’re feuding with.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some brief descriptions of decaying bodies attacking people and turning them to stone.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

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The Gifts of Imperfection
Brené Brown
Hazelden Publishing
Published August 27, 2010

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Gifts of Imperfection

A motivational and inspiring guide to wholehearted living, rather than just the average self-help book, with this groundbreaking work Brené Brown, Ph.D., bolsters the self-esteem and personal development process through her characteristic heartfelt, honest storytelling. With original research and plenty of encouragement, she explores the psychology of releasing our definitions of an “imperfect” life and embracing living authentically. Brown’s “ten guideposts” are benchmarks for authenticity that can help anyone establish a practice for a life of honest beauty—a perfectly imperfect life.

Now more than ever, we all need to cultivate feelings of self-worth, as well as acceptance and love for ourselves. In a world where insults, criticisms, and fears are spread too generously alongside messages of unrealistic beauty, attainment, and expectation, we look for ways to “dig deep” and find truth and gratitude in our lives. A new way forward means we can’t hold on too tightly to our own self-defeating thoughts or the displaced pain in our world. Instead, we can embrace the imperfection.

When our embarrassments and fears lie, we often listen to them anyway. They thwart our gratitude, acceptance, and compassion—our goodness. They insist, “I am not worthy.” But we are worthy—of self-discovery, personal growth, and boundless love. With Brené Brown’s game-changing New York Times bestseller The Gifts of Imperfection—which has sold more than 2 million copies in more than 30 different languages, and Forbes recently named one of the “Five Books That Will Actually Change Your Outlook On Life”—we find courage to overcome paralyzing fear and self-consciousness, strengthening our connection to the world.

My Review

Okay, so I listened to DARING GREATLY multiple times because it was too good to read just once. I wanted to hear it all from the beginning a second time (and a third time) once I kind of had the whole in my head already. And I’m super glad I did that.

I will do that same thing with GIFTS OF IMPERFECTION, but I’m writing the review between my first and second times reading it. (Mostly because I’ve been swamped and am way behind where I want to be with my reading and review calendar. Also because the publication dates on books keep getting pushed back, leaving me with weird, unexpected gaps in my calendar. It’s stressful, y’all!)

At any rate. So. This book. First, I want to say that I had this playing on my Audible account while wrapping Christmas gifts, and my daughter listened to it with me briefly. That led to some really great conversations. I hope we can listen to more of the book together at some point.

So I loved that DARING GREATLY gave this deep dive into what vulnerability is and why it’s so critical to be able to experience it in a healthy way in order to have healthy relationships and connections in your life. GIFTS OF IMPERFECTION is similar, but it focuses a lot more on perfectionism. The book examines our tendencies to overcommit or fill our lives to the seams with events and stuff and busyness.

And HOW not to do that. WHY not to do that.

I need this book in my life. Because I so do that. Everything must have a purpose, be structured, have some sort of benefit or gain. I forget sometimes that there is real value in just wasting time on something you love for no other reason than you love it. For me the biggest black hole of this kind of unstructured time is social. I end up feeling guilty later if it took me a long time to get something done. This is especially true if in addition to working on the tasks, I was chitchatting with someone.

I feel like I’m still learning to rewire myself to consider that time valuable and productive. And to try to listen to my heart or my body or my spirit and respond when I really genuinely need that rest time or unstructured, unproductive time.

At any rate, this book was a pretty key read for me in this season of my life. I’m super glad that I read it. I noticed that Brown has a new book out recently called ATLAS OF THE HEART. So, that one is now on my reading list!

If you’re looking for a book that kind of helps you quantify why being super busy feels like it’s not sustainable or not working, or you just feel like it’s time to rebalance priorities in your life and make more time for what matters, this is a GREAT book to read. I highly recommend it.

Content Notes on The Gifts of Imperfection

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Relates stories and data based on a broad range of research.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some brief mentions of sex from the perspective of the way that asking for sex or participating in it means experiencing vulnerability. .

Spiritual Content
Mentions going to church.

Violent Content
Vague mentions of abuse situations.

Drug Content
Mentions of drinking alcohol and smoking as a poor coping strategy for vulnerability. She also discusses the connection between shame and addiction.

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

Review: Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

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

Daughter of the Siren Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #2)
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 27, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Siren Queen

Alosa’s mission is finally complete. Not only has she recovered all three pieces of the map to a legendary hidden treasure, but the pirates who originally took her captive are now prisoners on her ship. Still unfairly attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate Riden is a constant distraction, but now he’s under her orders. And she takes great comfort in knowing that the villainous Vordan will soon be facing her father’s justice.

When Vordan exposes a secret her father has kept for years, Alosa and her crew find themselves in a deadly race with the feared Pirate King. Despite the danger, Alosa knows they will recover the treasure first . . . after all, she is the daughter of the Siren Queen.

My Review

I finally read the first book in this series a few months ago, and I knew it couldn’t be long before I read the second (and final) one. I really wanted to know how things progressed with the quest to reach the island where Alosa’s mother, the Siren Queen was rumored to live. I desperately wanted to know what would happen between her and Riden. And I was very eager for a confrontation between Alosa and her father, because that definitely needed to happen!

The story scratched all those itches for me, and for the most part, I felt like they all exceeded my expectations. The only thing that felt a little bit underwhelming for me had to do with Alosa’s mom. I think I was expecting her to be… more something. Complicated? Morally gray?

She definitely is not a morally pure character, as she’s a siren and behaves as sirens in this story universe do. (See content notes below.) So it wasn’t that she was pure. I guess maybe I just found it a little weird that she was also sort of scripted as the perfect, loving mother in some ways? I don’t know. For sure I read the first scene with her in it and was like, wait, that’s her mom?

On the whole, though, I enjoyed the story. I appreciated that the sirens’ behavior is more strongly condemned in this book than in the first one. And I loved seeing both Riden and Alosa grow as characters and find their way through personal battles and issues to figure out what they wanted from each other.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. She takes of his shirt. In one scene, it’s clear they intend to have sex.

There are also some sexual comments about both women and men.

Spiritual Content
Alosa’s mother is a siren, and she herself possesses the ability to sing and command men to do as she wants them to. All sirens have that power.

Violent Content – Content warning for rape.
Sirens desire to drag men under the water, rape them and murder them. It’s discussed but not shown on scene. There are scenes in which sirens drag men under water with them and disappear into the ocean.

There are also several scenes showing some pretty gruesome violence/torture. Someone shoots prisoners trying to make another prisoner tell secrets in order to save others. Some mentions of childhood abuse. They’re brief, but pretty intense.

Drug Content
One character is an alcoholic and gives up drinking. Alosa keeps a supply of rum on the ship and rations it out to her crew.

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

Review: My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

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My Contrary Mary (Mary #1)
Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
HarperTeen
Published June 22, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About My Contrary Mary

Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and . . . queens?⠀
⠀
Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she’s a mouse. Yes, reader, Mary is an Eðian (shapeshifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. It’s a secret that could cost her a head—or a tail.⠀
⠀
Luckily, Mary has a confidant in her betrothed, Francis. But after the king meets a suspicious end, things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn. Thrust onto the throne, Mary and Francis are forced to navigate a viper’s nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary’s secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.

My Review

For a book that’s nearly 500 pages, MY CONTRARY MARY was a really quick read. The writing is really easy, and the paragraphs are pretty short, which is awesome. That made it even easier for me to get lost in the story.

This is a silly, fun reimagining of the history of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary lives in France, where she’s waiting to marry Francis, who will one day be king of France. He loves her, but he’s uncertain whether she has feelings for him that extend beyond friendship. As Mary nears her wedding day, a new lady-in-waiting joins her: Ari, the daughter of Nostradamus, a girl who is searching for her own place in the French court.

All three of those characters have chapters from their points of view. I liked that the story rotated between the three of them. There were moments for each of them where we really needed only the perspective that character could bring.

I liked the tongue-in-cheek, break the fourth wall style the authors use to tell the story. There are lots of asides where the narrators speak directly to the reader in little jokes or funny comments. I thought that was clever, and I enjoyed it. I feel like that’s always a gamble with readers, though– some people really like it and others do not.

Conclusion

On the whole, I enjoyed this book for its silliness and the sweet romance as well as the opportunity to imagine a happily ever after for a historical figure who didn’t get one. (This isn’t a spoiler, since the authors explain this out at the beginning of the book.)

I have only read MY LADY JANE from the other series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, but I enjoyed that book as well. It made me want to go back and finish that series. I think the second Mary book, MY IMAGINARY MARY, comes out in August.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white, either Scottish or French. Ari is in love with another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity in English. Strong profanity in French. Used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Nostradamus and Ari have visions. Ari’s are all visions of scenes from famous movies. Nostradamus has some visions of the future.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to torture. Brief battle scene.

Drug Content
Francis’ father gets drunk in some scenes. Mary and Francis once played a game where they took a drink every time the king said a certain word. They were pretty tipsy themselves by the end of it.

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 MY CONTRARY MARY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

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A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3)
Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury YA
Published January 26, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Vow So Bold and Deadly

Face your fears, fight the battle.

Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.

Fight the battle, save the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

My Review

It took me a long time to read this book. Not because of the writing or the book itself, just… it’s the end of the series. And I was pretty much Team Rhen from the beginning, so I knew this one wasn’t going to be easy, because he goes through some stuff. But I also love the other characters, especially Harper, and really wanted to see how their stories play out. Plus, if you haven’t yet heard, Kemmerer is beginning a new spin-off series this year (which has Tycho in it as a lord???) so I didn’t want to fall behind.

There’s a line in the book where Harper is thinking about Grey and Rhen’s relationship and where things went wrong between those two. She’s thinking about the mistakes they both made and whether that justifies war between them. She concludes this: “one bad choice should not undo a thousand good ones.”

If you know what’s been going on in my personal life the last few months, you probably already know that would hit me really deep. I mean, you could argue that there are some loopholes there depending on what that one bad choice is (murder maybe?). But I’d argue that the thousand choices are a good measure of the person’s true character. If one choice out of a thousand is a bad choice, probably it was a mistake, and there are probably reasons it happened. (Which is pretty much Harper’s point.)

Anyway, obviously the story resonated with me in ways outside the book. I loved the way the story explores the way mistakes impact a relationship but how hope and courage to rebuild that trust impact a relationship, too.

There are so many moments in this book that I needed to happen. Things between Rhen and Harper. Things between Lia Mara and Grey. But things for those characters individually, too. Stuff that they’ve been carrying that we’ve all known they need to face up to. There are shocking moments and moments that broke my heart, too. It’s a really fitting conclusion to this series packed with huge characters and gigantic emotions.

On the whole, I’m so glad I finally read A VOW SO BOLD AND DEADLY. I’m excited about the spinoff, FORGING SILVER INTO STARS, which comes out later this year, too. Sometimes I’m able to get Brigid Kemmerer’s books for review (probably a higher likelihood since it’s the first book in a new series??) but not always. Either way, I’m sure I’ll be reading it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Harper has Cerebral Palsy. (It’s not mentioned specifically in this book, but it is in A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY.) Harper’s brother Jake is gay and in a relationship with a Black man. (Both minor characters.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl which sometimes leads to more. Some descriptions of undressing and leading up to sex. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
A sorceress once held Rhen under a terrible curse, leaving him terrified of magic. Grey also has the ability to perform magic. Another character does as well.

Violent Content
Battle violence and situations of peril. Some graphic descriptions of violence and references to torture.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol.

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

Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

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

Daughter of the Pirate King
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 28th 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Pirate King

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

My Review

I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book. First, I loved Alosa. She’s fierce and smart and knows how to bide her time and wait for the right moments to do what she needs to do. I also loved Riden. He’s so conflicted, so caught between what he wants and protecting people he cares about and doing the right thing. But he’s also a pirate, so kind of unpredictable, definitely living by his own code of ethics. Once I understood how that code worked, I was a huge fan of him.

So… consent stuff. Alosa is a captive aboard a pirate ship. She arranges for herself to be captured and makes it clear (to the reader) that she can come and go from her cell pretty much at will. When she experiences a romantic advance from one of the other pirates, it’s not clear whether she wants him to behave like he does. I guess it’s clear she could stop him if she wanted to, but it felt a little weird to me. Maybe I’ve just come to appreciate the recent books where consent is made really clear.

There’s also some backstory referring to the way sirens treat their victims that isn’t ever really addressed in the story. At one point, a character comments on the sirens’ behavior (See below for details.) and Alosa kind of dismisses it like, yeah, but the pirates had harmful intentions, too. I don’t know. I wish the book addressed this in the story more clearly.

Conclusion

Aside from that, I liked a lot of other things– the adventure on a pirate ship, the enemies to lovers romance, the banter between characters, and the fierce heroine. I want to read the second book in this duology, DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN. Some of the reviews on Goodreads indicate that this book better addresses consent issues.

Readers who enjoyed SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo or IMPRISON THE SKY by A. C. Gaughen will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning for Mentions of Rape
A pirate captain implies that he will let his crew rape Alosa. One of the crew members is a serial rapist. He stands guard over Alosa’s cell and continually leers at her. He reaches into the cell (she stands out of his reach but is unable to sleep while he’s there.). At one point he grabs her and licks her neck.

Sirens live in the ocean, but journey to the surface to capture men before dragging them to the bottom of the sea, raping, and killing them. The story states this more than once, but no graphic description.

Kissing between a boy and girl. It’s an enemies to lovers situation, and it’s not really clear if some of the kisses/touches are welcome or not. I had weird feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Sirens are powerful beings whose song controls men.

Violent Content
Graphic battle violence. Some scenes include references to torture and some descriptions of it.

Drug Content
One pirate is clearly an alcoholic. There’s reference to others drinking alcohol, too.

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