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Review: Hearts of Fire and Snow by David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
Hearts of Fire and Snow by David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall

Hearts of Fire and Snow
David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall
Bloomsbury
Published June 11, 2024

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About Hearts of Fire and Snow

Award-winning authors David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall reimagine a beloved Aztec tale of star-crossed lovers with one last chance to reunite.

Blanca Montes wants to make a difference in the world, to do more than her wealthy godfather and spoiled boyfriend think her capable of. So when Greg Chan shows up as a new student at her Nevada school, she is more than intrigued by this handsome, brilliant stranger.

But Greg and Blanca are drawn to each other by something stronger–their fates entwined centuries ago. In his first life, Greg was Captain Popoca, and Blanca is the reincarnation of Princess Iztac, who took her own life after believing her beloved Popoca was sent to his death in battle. Greg has spent a thousand years searching for his lost love, and now the fates have given them one more chance to reunite. Will their hearts finally beat as one?

This swoony contemporary fantasy is perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and This Poison Heart.

My Review

Hearts of Fire and Snow definitely captures the feel of star-crossed lovers fighting against time or fate to remember their true selves so they can finally be together. I liked both Greg and Blanca’s characters. Blanca is fierce and independent. She has big dreams, and she is willing to do the work to make them happen. Greg has a big heart and uses his resources to help the people he cares about.

The only confusing thing about the book is why it’s marketed as YA. I don’t know if it’s that the young adult fantasy market/influencers are elevating diverse books more effectively than adult fantasy. (I know almost nothing about the adult fantasy market or influencers, so I have no idea how close or far from the truth that might be.)

Though the characters begin the story as high school students, they’re also reincarnated for several generations. They don’t really behave as high school students– they’re functionally adults making their own choices and running their own lives. I wish it had either been written more as a young adult story or marketed as an adult fantasy.

I really enjoyed the connection to an Aztec tale and references to Mexican history throughout the different lives Greg and Blanca experienced along the way to the present story. This book makes me want to read more and makes me realize that it’s a rich topic.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. Readers who love a star-crossed romance with rich historical context will want to read this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Greg and Blanca are indigenous and Mexican American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Inspired by an Aztec tale. Some characters are the deities the Gods of Chaos and the Goddesses of Fate. A few characters have special abilities. Greg has a connection with volcanoes, and they respond to his anger, heating up and eventually erupting if he loses control. Other characters have the abilities to freeze things. The Goddesses of Fate devour sins, making someone blameless again. Some characters are reincarnated from previous lives.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to suicide and some suicidal ideation. Someone finds the body of a murder victim. Battles between people.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron

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

Sleep Like Death
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA
Published June 25, 2024

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About Sleep Like Death

New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Kalynn Bayron returns to fairytales with a lush, thrilling and original YA Snow White retelling that brings a new and exciting voice to this familiar tale. Perfect for fans of Cinderella Is Dead.

Only the truly desperate—and foolish—seek out the Knight, an ancient monster who twists wishes into curses. Eve knows this firsthand: one of her mothers was cursed by the Knight and trapped in the body of a songbird. With the unique abilities to communicate with animals and conjure weapons from nature, Eve has trained all her life to defeat him.

With more and more villagers harmed by the Knight’s corrupt deals, Eve believes she’s finally ready to face him. But when Queen Regina begins acting strangely – talking to seemingly no one, isolating herself, and lashing out at the slightest provocation – Eve must question if her powers are enough to save her family and her kingdom.

My Review

Wow. I wasn’t sure in the first couple chapters of this book how closely it would resemble the fairytale about Snow White, but as the story continued to unfold, so many things fell into place in familiar yet really imaginative, fresh ways.

I was just talking with a group of bloggers about how many stories, especially fairytales, include an evil mom or stepmom, and I want to rush back to the group waving this book. In Sleep Like Death, instead of the usual bad mom, we celebrate motherhood and a community of women who mentor and care for Princess Eve. I love that there are several women Eve feels close to, and each one contributes different things to her life. Her relationship with her mom is especially sweet.

There’s a hint of romance in the story as well, and I liked the way that played out. It’s present but not forefront to the tale. This book is Eve’s adventure from start to finish, and she takes an active role at every step of the way. I love that.

I think Kalynn Bayron has become one of my favorite writers to watch because she constantly amazes me. Reimagined fairytales with fierce women at the center? Yep, she can do that. Quirky, fabulous middle grade? Uh-huh. She’s got that, too. Wild slasher novel that somehow also makes fun of itself? You bet. A reimagined classic set in 1885 London? Check!

She’s amazing, y’all. Truly.

Anyway, this might be my favorite version of Snow White that I’ve ever read. I think it’s a hard story to tell, and this version does it absolutely beautifully. If you like fairytales, definitely don’t miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The main character is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Eve has two moms. A woman confesses to Eve that she is in love with another woman.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. Eve can create magic from nature. For example, she pulls the night sky down and wraps a piece around her like a cloak. A mysterious Knight grants wishes for a price.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Eve and another character hunt and kill a deer. Eve and her allies battle against foes.

Drug Content
References to someone drinking too much while grieving over the loss of a child.

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

Review: Dead Girls Talking by Megan Cooley Peterson

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

Dead Girls Talking
Megan Cooley Peterson
Holiday House
Published June 18, 2024

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About Dead Girls Talking

The town of Wolf Ridge calls him The Smiley Face Killer. Bettina Holland calls him her father.

Everyone knows Bettina’s father was the one who murdered her mother a decade ago. It’s the subject of podcasts, murder tours, and even a highly anticipated docuseries. But after growing up grappling with what that means, a string of copycat murders forces Bett to answer a harder What if he didn’t?

Old-money Bett must team up with the only person willing to investigate alongside bookish goth girl Eugenia, the mortician’s daughter, who everyone says puts the makeup on corpses. Can this “true crime princess” unmask a murderer who’s much closer to home than she ever imagined?

Gritty, gripping, and propulsive from page one, Dead Girls Talking is a ride for readers who love to see girls get their hands dirty as they claw their way to the truth. Peterson’s knife-sharp thriller cuts deep, with a wicked sense of humor, a wire-taut atmosphere, and a deadly serious approach to bigger transparency, justice, and female anger.

My Review

I think I expected something more like “The Agathas” series by Liz Lawson and Kathleen Glasgow, which I love, and this is more like Daughter by Kate McLaughlin, which didn’t resonate with me.

My favorite part of the book is definitely the friendship between Bett and Eugenia. In fact, Eugenia is hands down the best part of the story. She’s smart and thoughtful; when she goes all in, she’s one hundred percent all in. She doesn’t hesitate to call Bettina out when she needs it and doesn’t back down from a fight if someone she cares about is in trouble.

Bett is complicated, which is great. I can see the draw of a story about a possible serial killer’s daughter, whose mom was murdered. I think I’ve read too many stories like this. It didn’t feel like this one added anything new to that kind of character, and I hoped for a new spin or perspective. In fact, the overall plot is similar to a different novel that I read a few years ago. So, again, it might be that I’ve just read too many similar books.

I think readers who enjoy a dark thriller with murder victims around lots of corners will find some great things here. The investigatory team of Bett and Eugenia keeps things lively. As the body count increases, Bett begins to feel like the murderer is targeting her specifically. That adds some tension and means they have to stop this person and fast.

All in all, readers looking for a murder mystery, serial killer thriller will get exactly that with a dynamic duo of girls at the helm of the investigation.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The main character is white with a parent incarcerated for killing her mother. The boy she’s attracted to is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A large handful of F-bombs and other swear words used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene briefly shows a boy and girl having sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A girl finds more than one murder victim. Multiple scenes show someone punching another person. A few scenes show domestic violence. One scene shows a person trying to strangle another person whose hands are bound. Murder victims have been stabbed multiple times and have cuts on their faces. In one scene, two boys appear ready to assault a girl.

Drug Content
The main character and other teens drink beer at parties. The main character and others get very drunk. Some teens smoke pot.

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

Review: Darkness and Demon Song by M. R. Fournet

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Horror, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

Darkness and Demon Song (Marius Grey #2)
M. R. Fournet
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 18, 2024

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About Darkness and Demon Song

A cemetery-boy-turned-monster-hunter must race against time to save his recently-resurrected mother in Darkness and Demon Song, M.R. Fournet’s eerie middle grade follow up to Brick Dust and Bones.

Marius Grey’s mom is back from the dead. After hunting monsters and performing forbidden spells, Marius is just happy she’s there, helping him to take care of their Louisiana cemetery again.

But it soon becomes clear that something has gone wrong. Marius’s mother is growing more distant and strange things start happening around her. Worse yet, sometimes it feels like she’s a completely different person–one who definitely isn’t his mom.

If Marius wants to save her, he’s going to need help. Serious help. Good thing he has a flesh-eating mermaid for a best friend and a classmate with extra strong magic. Add in mysterious clues for new hunts, graveyard hopping from Louisiana to Texas, and a tough ex-hunter he doesn’t know if he can trust, and it’s clear that Marius has his work cut out for him.

My Review

The first book in this series took me completely by surprise last year. I received a copy from the publisher and really didn’t know anything about the book itself before opening it up. I’m not a big horror reader, so that also gave me pause. I couldn’t figure out how horror would work in middle grade.

Once I started reading the book, though, I totally got how it could work. It’s definitely not something I would have been able to read in elementary school myself. I have always been something of a sensitive reader. But now, reading the book, I felt like I couldn’t put it down.

Marius is such a compelling character. He’s doing everything he can do to make the world a safer place and take care of the people counting on him, from his mom to the ghosts in the cemetery in their care.

In the first book, Marius does a lot on his own or with only the help of his best friend, Rhiannon, the flesh-eating mermaid. In this second installment in the series, a community develops around Marius. Partly, this happens because his mom is back, and people try to reconnect with her as well. Partly, it happens because things go sideways, and Marius needs help.

The book focuses on some really cool relationships. Of course, we learn more about the friendship between Marius and Rhiannon. But Marius also makes a new friend his age who harbors her own secrets. He also learns to take risks by trusting a few adults in his life who have helped him in the past.

All in all, I enjoyed this second adventure into the dark, scary world of New Orleans, complete with fishing in the swamp, a Texas entrance to Hell, and an exploration of what truly makes someone a monster. I’ll be eager to see what M.R. Fournet writes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Marius is described as being basically shades of gray rather than a member of a specific race. Minor characters are POC.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A magic book captures monsters through a recited spell. Marius visits various magical shops and encounters other magical creatures and people who possess magic, like witches. His family is responsible for the care of the ghosts in the graveyard where he lives. Some humans open themselves up to possession by a demon through bargains gone wrong or other circumstances.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and scary imagery, such as monsters trying to attack a child. One character relives another’s memories in Hell. Characters fight demons and other monsters.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Shooting for Stars by Christine Webb

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

Shooting for Stars
Christine Webb
Peachtree Teen
Published May 21, 2024

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About Shooting for Stars

A charming romantic dramedy from the author of The Art of Insanity

High schooler Skyler Davidson spends most of her time with her pet rat, Five. The daughter of scientists, she’s determined to finish her late mother’s research on neutron stars. So she teams up with aspiring videographer, Cooper, to film a submission for a NASA internship—all while keeping it a secret from her dad, who doesn’t expect any trouble from his obviously college-bound daughter.

As Skyler and Cooper grow closer, it turns out that Skyler’s dad has a new love interest as a hot makeup influencer who likes to put her nose where it doesn’t belong. She’ll keep hush on Skyler’s NASA plans, if Skyler agrees to get to know her. Now Skyler’s tangled up in a budding romance, an unexpected friendship, and the stress of having to retake her SATs.

Will Skyler’s dream of stars collapse and explode, or can dad and daughter reconcile and change their trajectory?

My Review

Skylar is one of those characters who has a really niche interest that informs how she thinks about a lot of things. In this case, it’s her interest in chemistry. When she meets someone, she evaluates what element they are based on personality traits and the qualities of the element. For example, the boy she’s attracted to is gold because it’s malleable, and he goes with the flow. Also, it’s quite an attractive element.

At the beginning of the book, Skylar has a pet rat named Five which she tries to think of as a lab rat, but which we know she has deep affection for. I love the relationship between them, and the way the author describes Five doing different things is so cute and engaging. I had such a great time reading the scenes with the two of them.

Skylar and Cooper’s relationship is also amazing. While he’s much more easygoing than she is, they don’t have a “boy teaches sheltered girl about relationships” kind of experience, which I very much appreciated. It felt like a more balanced connection, where she has some big blind spots, but he does, too. They challenge one another sometimes, but at other times, they just interact as they are. It felt natural and realistic.

Skylar also has an unexpected friendship with Cooper’s sister and her dad’s new girlfriend, Charli. I liked the way both of those relationships impacted the story. Neither was perfect, but both are meaningful.

There’s a point in the book where a lot of things come together, and it made me realize how well those pieces had been set up in the first place. I enjoyed the book up until that point, but when I hit this coming-together moment, it had a huge emotional impact, which I think is exactly what the author was going for. And it worked!

Content Notes for Shooting for Stars

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Skylar might be neurodiverse, but if so, she doesn’t share a formal diagnosis.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
At one point, something scary happens, and Skylar comments that she doesn’t believe in God, but this scary moment makes her pray anyway, just in case.

Violent Content
References to Skylar’s mom’s death. References to a car accident caused by cell phone use in which a girl is injured. A girl goes missing overnight. A character arrives home to emergency vehicles in their driveway and learns there was a fire.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim

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

The Spindle of Fate
Aimee Lim
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 4, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Spindle of Fate

When Evie Mei discovers that her recently passed mother was the head of a guild of magical weavers, she enters the Chinese netherworld to try and bring her back in this middle-grade debut.

Twelve-year-old Evie Mei Huang never did like helping in her mom’s tailor shop. She hated helping to mend fraying clothes, how the measuring tape got all twisted up, and how pushy her mother’s clients were. Most of all, she hates that her mother is dead and isn’t here to help anymore.

But when the universe sends a life preserver, Evie knows to grab it. So yes, it’s weird when a talking monkey shows up and tells her that her plainspoken, hardworking tailor mother was actually the head of a Guild of magical weavers who can change the fate of a person with only a spool of thread. Very weird. But he also comes bearing news that her mother is trapped in Diyu, the Chinese underworld, and that only Evie can get her back. No pressure.

The important thing is that Evie’s mom isn’t dead. And if she’s got this one shot to bring her back and save her family, she’s got to take it.

Inspired by Chinese mythology, Aimee Lim’s debut middle grade peers into the dark and gritty underworld, while showcasing the unbreakable bond between a family and the lengths we’ll go to save them.

My Review

I’ve read a couple of other middle grade books in which someone must journey into the underworld to save a family member or the world, but what makes this story fresh and different is the complex relationship between Evie and her mom. While Evie’s mom was alive, she complained about her, wasn’t interested in her mom’s work, and felt that her mom didn’t understand her at all.

As Evie learns about her mom’s secret life as the leader of a magical Guild, she starts to rethink things she took for granted. Perhaps there was a lot more to her mom than she knew. And if she has a chance to save her, Evie realizes she desperately wants to take it.

I also like the boy who comes with her on her quest. He’s a bit goofy, but the story doesn’t lean too far into that goofiness. He has knowledge and abilities that help Evie, but he provides some comedic relief, too.

Another great element of this book is that her mom’s magic is through sewing. She can sew messages that appear on special fabric in someone else’s possession. She can use thread in magical ways. I loved how this was used in the resolution of the story.

Readers who enjoyed Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao or Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit by Jesse Q. Sutanto will enjoy another chance to delve into Chinese mythology and celebrate family connections.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Most characters are Chinese.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man embraces a woman.

Spiritual Content
Evie meets a monkey who is also a powerful spiritual being or demon. She and another person make the journey to Diyu, the Chinese underworld. There they meet several supernatural “staff” members who run Diyu.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and brief battle sequences. Evie and her companion witness people being tortured on the various courts of Diyu. For example, they encounter people who appear to be starving, whose bowls are filled with uncooked rice they can’t eat. They don’t witness any graphic torture.

References to murder.

Drug Content
None.

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