Tag Archives: backlist

Review: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief (Queen’s Thief #1)
Megan Whalen Turner
Greenwillow Books
Published February 28, 2017 (orig. 1996)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Thief

The king’s scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. The magus is interested only in the thief’s abilities.

What Gen is interested in is anyone’s guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.

My Review

So, I’ve had a copy of THE THIEF for a while, but after reading this review of RETURN OF THE THIEF, which is the grand finale of the series (no spoilers, so feel free to peek), I finally decided to give it a go via the audiobook performed by the incredible Steve West.

I could probably listen to Steve West read the phone book, so I felt like this was a pretty sure win. It took me a bit to get into the story, I think because it begins in what struck me as a strange place. Gen is in prison and at first looking to escape before ending up being roped into a journey. It also takes some time to really get introduced to his companions and took me some time to get interested in them.

Once I got into the story, though, I enjoyed reading it. Turner is pretty much a master at the timing of revealing secrets. All the way along, there are things that I wondered about and then later, at just the right moment, I’d learn new information that changed how I thought about those earlier scenes.

I haven’t read any further in the series at this point, but I’ve seen lots of reviews basically saying this book largely just sets up many things to come, and that the subsequent books are super fantastic. All the audiobooks in the series are performed by Steve West, so, bonus!

My only complaint about THE THIEF is that there are very few female characters in the story at all, and all of them are extremely minor characters. I wish there had been more female characters.

Some things about the book reminded me of THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen, so I think readers who enjoyed that one might also like THE THIEF. I’m excited to read the rest of the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some references to cursing but not explicitly shown.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Gen and the Magus tell stories about the “old gods” and their exploits. Gen meets a spiritual guide in a dream.

Violent Content
Some bullying and battle violence. Some reference to cruel treatment in the prison.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Estranged by Ethan Aldridge

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Estranged (Estranged #1)
Ethan Aldridge
HarperCollins
Published August 7, 2018

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

About Estranged

Edmund and the Childe were swapped at birth. Now Edmund lives in secret as a changeling in the World Above, with fae powers that make him different from everyone else—even his unwitting parents and older sister, Alexis. The Childe lives among the fae in the World Below, where being human makes him an oddity at the royal palace, and where his only friend is a wax golem named Whick.

But when the cruel sorceress Hawthorne takes the throne, the Childe and Edmund realize that the fate of both worlds may be in their hands—even if they’re not sure which world they belong to.

My Review

This is one of those instances where I read the sequel before the original, and then had to go back and read the original because I loved the other book so much.

I loved revisiting all the characters from the second book. I think the pacing of this one was slightly slower than THE CHANGELING KING, probably because it’s introducing a lot of characters and story world elements for the first time. Even with that slight slow-down, I found myself turning page after page, loving the illustrations and eager to see what would happen next.

One of my favorite things about both these books is how expressive and immersive the panels are. I really feel the story world and can imagine myself in the story. The color palette is amazing– rich and very fitting to the kind of setting in the story. The characters’ faces have these super evocative expressions that really clue me into what they’re feeling even without added dialogue.

All in all, this graphic novel was a huge pleasure to read. I loved it, and I really want to see more from this author. I hope he has new work coming soon!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
One major character is gay, but that doesn’t come up in this book.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A World Below exists under the human world, populated with magical creatures and monsters.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and situations of peril. No gory details.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of ESTRANGED 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: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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

Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone #2)
Leigh Bardugo
Henry Holt & Co.
Published June 4, 2013

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

About Siege and Storm

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

My Review

I have some complex feelings about this book. I really like Alina and her internal struggle over her power and the pull toward more versus her fight to stay herself. I love the way Nikolai kind of mentored her and teased her. I like his character a lot. I’m not such a huge fan of Mal, to be honest. I feel like he keeps disappointing me, so I’m not super invested in the relationship between him and Alina other than that it’s her true self who loves Mal, and as long as that love is still there, she’s still her, if that makes sense.

In terms of plot, SIEGE AND STORM takes an interesting route. Alina finds another amplifier near the beginning of the story and then spends the rest of the book rallying people to try to fight the Darkling. So that was different than the first book, for sure. I loved watching Alina learn to navigate politics and some of the back and forth between her and some of the other characters.

I enjoyed reading both SIEGE AND STORM and SHADOW AND BONE, though, and I definitely want to finish the series before Netflix releases the show later this month.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The story setting is inspired by tsarist Russia. There’s a great interview with Leigh Bardugo about this in the Atlantic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple instances of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and tension between a boy and girl. In one scene, a boy kisses a girl without consent. She kicks him. At one point, a girl brings someone into her bed, kissing him.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have supernatural abilities referred to as small science. These can be things like gathering light or darkness or causing someone’s heart to explode without touching them.

Beyond that, though, a powerful Grisha has used forbidden magic to unleash a swath of darkness across Ravka. Alina hopes to find a way to use her sun summoner ability to destroy that darkness.

Violent Content
Some battle violence and situations of peril. Alina and her team face enemy soldiers and deadly monsters made of darkness. Some of the battles are described in detail.

Drug Content
Some social drinking.

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

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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

Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone #1)
Leigh Bardugo
Henry Holt & Co.
Published June 5, 2012

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

About Shadow and Bone

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

My Review

This book (the whole series, really) has been on my reading list especially since I read and loved SIX OF CROWS. I really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s writing style so much that I figured she’s probably one of those authors where I’d enjoy all her books. I ended up putting it off because of some of the stuff I’d read about the Darkling character and just wasn’t sure if it would be for me.

Now that I’ve finally read it, I can say that I did really enjoy the book. I liked Alina’s story arc and the way her relationships with other characters developed. I loved the Grisha world and that Alina’s magic had an effect on her physical health that was different than in other series I’ve seen. It had always been my plan to read all of them before watching the Netflix series based on these and SIX OF CROWS, so I can see myself reading the sequel for sure.

If you enjoy magic and fantasy with a mix of politics, (and you’re late to the Grisha fandom like I am!) then I think this book is worth checking out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The story setting is inspired by tsarist Russia. There’s a great interview with Leigh Bardugo about this in the Atlantic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple instances of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to sexual exploits by Alina’s fellow soldiers. Some intense kissing between boy and girl. A boy asks a girl if he can visit her in her room, implying that he would like to have sex with her.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have supernatural abilities referred to as small science. These can be things like gathering light or darkness or causing someone’s heart to explode without touching them.

Violent Content
Some battle violence and situations of peril. Alina and her team face monsters that lurk in the dark.

Drug Content
Some social drinking.

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

Review: Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis

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

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

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

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: The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
Published February 14, 2017

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

About The Last of August

Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter-break reprieve after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But Charlotte isn’t the only Holmes with secrets, and the mood at her family’s Sussex estate is palpably tense. On top of everything else, Holmes and Watson could be becoming more than friends—but still, the darkness in Charlotte’s past is a wall between them.

A distraction arises soon enough, because Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring. The game is afoot once again, and Charlotte is single-minded in her pursuit.

Their first stop? Berlin. Their first contact? August Moriarty (formerly Charlotte’s obsession, currently believed by most to be dead), whose powerful family has been ripping off famous paintings for the last hundred years. But as they follow the gritty underground scene in Berlin to glittering art houses in Prague, Holmes and Watson begin to realize that this is a much more complicated case than a disappearance. Much more dangerous, too.

What they learn might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.

Audiobooks and a Bit of Background

I’ve been having a ton of trouble sleeping the last several months. It’s like my body crashes really deeply for 4-5 hours and then I’m wide awake, brain whirring at top speed. I hate it because it makes me want to get up and do something useful, like lying there trying to go back to sleep and being unable to is such a huge waste of time. At the same time I know if I get up and do something, I’m more likely to stay up longer and that can really ruin my daytime life with kids and such.

So my solution has been to listen to audiobooks. It’s actually worked out really well most of the time. A lot of the backlist titles I’ve reviewed lately have been the result of audiobooks I’ve listened to while navigating those troubled nighttime hours.

My Review of The Last of August

Which brings me to THE LAST OF AUGUST. It’s been a while since I read A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE, the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series. If you’re unfamiliar with this series, the basic premise is that Sherlock Holmes and James Watson’s present-day descendants meet up at a boarding school and begin solving crimes together. I really enjoyed the first book, but I’m terrible at pursuing a series all the way to the end, so it has taken me a long time to get back to this one.

I liked THE LAST OF AUGUST a lot. Holmes and Watson have that dynamic duo thing going plus loads of romantic tension, and on top of that, a whole family of villains seems to be intent on putting an end to Charlotte’s family.

Some of the twists and turns caught me completely by surprise. I sort of expected that– since it’s sort of part of the Holmes charm to have the big reveal at the end where all the pieces snap into place. I felt like Jamie played a more active role in this book than in the first one (though it’s been a while, so I may be wrong), and I liked that he put some pieces together himself and took charge of a few things, even if they didn’t always go quite as he hoped.

Jamie and Charlotte together are heartbreakingly sweet. He can’t help loving her, and she is so cerebral and analytical and feels so broken beyond repair, but loves him in her own way, too. It’s one of those relationships you keep rooting for because they make each other better, and you just want them to keep making each other better until they’re somehow whole.

I’m hardly an avid mystery reader, but I think if you like Flavia de Luce books, this might be a great series to try.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlotte is from London. Jamie is white American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Before leaving school, Charlotte was raped. The incident is never shown, but it’s clear that she’s struggling to process the trauma. Sometimes she can’t handle being touched. Jamie is patient with her and respects her boundaries.

A boy and girl kiss in more than one scene. In another scene, a girl undresses in front of a boy. A vague recap lets readers know they did not have sex but had other sexual contact.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One character is poisoned. More than one character is kidnapped.

Drug Content
Charlotte is a recovering addict. She’s tempted at a party where guests are using cocaine. Teens drink alcohol at a club and auction. (It’s legal at 18 where they are.)

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