Tag Archives: Magic

Review: This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

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This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

This Dark Descent
Kalyn Josephson
Roaring Brook Press
Published September 26, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This Dark Descent

THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US meets SIX OF CROWS in this spellbinding new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, and pulse-pounding action, where the eldest daughter of a renowned family on the verge of ruin joins forces with a mysterious, rogue enchanter and a handsome, ambitious heir to win a deadly race.

Mikira Rusel’s family has long been famous for breeding enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her ranch, Mikira has only one option: she must win the Illinir, a treacherous horserace whose riders either finish maimed or murdered. Yet each year, competitors return, tempted by its alluring prize money and unparalleled prestige.

Mikira’s mission soon unites her with Arielle Kadar, an impressive yet illicit enchanter just beginning to come into her true power, and Damien Adair, a dashing young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle. Both have hidden reasons of their own to help Mikira — as well as their own blood feuds to avenge…

Steeped in Jewish folklore, THIS DARK DESCENT is a pulse-pounding new fantasy full of forbidden magic, sizzling romance, and epic stakes. In a world as dangerous as this, will the need for vengeance butcher Mikira’s chances of winning the Illinir … or will another rider’s dagger?

My Review

I definitely see the comparison from this book to SIX OF CROWS. Damian, the mysterious young nobleman, has that same calculating, cards close to the vest thing going that Kaz has in Bardugo’s duology. Unlike SIX OF CROWS, THIS DARK DESCENT follows only two points of view: Ariella and Mikira. I loved both of them pretty much right away. Ari is a self-taught enchanter, grasping for more of her own lost history and the magic of her people that’s since been forbidden. She teeters on the edge of an unnamed darkness as she pursues her magic, and I feel like I was on the edge of my seat, needing to know she would be okay.

Mikira is sparks and frenzy. She’s impulsive, fierce, and fiercely loyal. I wish we’d gotten a little more of her relationships with her sisters Nelda and Aileen. The scenes when she races are so intense. I couldn’t look away. Those moments and some of the behind-the-scenes politics reminded me a little bit of THE SCORPIO RACES.

This is a completely different story than that one, but it definitely has some similarities: strong, desperate heroine; powers that be trying to control the outcome of the race; unlikely alliances; and, of course, a high-stakes, highly dangerous race.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It anchored me in its story world pretty quickly, giving me just the right amount of detail so that I felt oriented to what was going on but not bogged down in unnecessary trivia. The pacing kept me turning pages from one chapter to the next all the way until the end. There’s also a bit of romance. It doesn’t dominate the story, but I really enjoyed that, too. I also loved the references to Jewish folklore and the way faith and heritage or culture and the complex relationships they can be were celebrated in the story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Some characters are described as having tawny or brown skin. Inspired by Jewish folklore. Also– yay for Widget the cat-who-is-not-a-cat.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Mentions of attraction between same-sex couples. References to sex (happened off-scene).

Spiritual Content
Four Harbingers delivered magic to humans and are still revered and celebrated. Ari is Kinnish, but her family wasn’t devout. Now she longs to know more about the history, faith, and magic of her people, though it’s forbidden by the current rulers. Ari and another woman visit a temple. In intense moments, a couple of characters make reference to praying to gods or goddesses.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Two men attack Ari, intent on mugging her. A man puts on brass knuckles and prepares to beat two men who are restrained. Racers attack Mikira with weapons and magic. She and her horse fight back. A man tortures a young woman, trying to get information from her. A young woman tortures a man and kills him. A couple of scenes show knife or gun fights.

Drug Content
Characters drink wine and whiskey as part of social events. A character tells a story about getting accidentally drunk on whiskey once.

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 THIS DARK DESCENT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

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The Forest Grimm
Kathryn Purdie
Wednesday Books
Published September 19, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Forest Grimm

Where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists…

“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae, the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.

My Review

One of the things that most intrigued me about this story was the idea of a magical forest filled with twisted versions of well-known fairy tales. I was just talking with someone the other day about how many of the versions we’re most familiar with are very different from the darker original versions. I liked the idea of including references to those darker stories in a new tale.

And that’s one of the elements I enjoyed most about reading this book. I really liked the forest, too. It felt old and dark and filled with deadly magic. The story centers around Clara and her developing relationship with Axel, a plotline that I also followed with interest. I think I would have enjoyed a little bit more focus on Henni’s relationship with Clara. The way the story ends left me hopeful that Henni would be a critical character in a follow-up tale. All I can say to that is, yes, please!

On the whole, I think readers who enjoy reimagined fairy tales or books like THE GREYMIST FAIR by Francesca Zappia will definitely want to give this one a read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Clara describes a back problem as having an S-curve that makes her hips uneven. She wears a special insert in her shoe to help her walk more comfortably.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Clara’s Grandmère uses cards to predict someone’s future. A curse descends on Clara’s town, changing the forest into a dangerous place, isolating the village, and drawing certain villagers into it. In the forest, Clara encounters magic in the form of dark fairytales. She sees a ghost and monsters.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle situations between Clara and her allies and residents of the forest.

Drug Content
Hallucinogenic mushrooms cause Clara and her friends to see strange things. (They were tricked into eating them.)

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 THE FOREST GRIMM in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Between Monsters and Marvels by Alysa Wishingrad

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Between Monsters and Marvels
Alysa Wishingrad
HarperCollins
Published September 12, 2023

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About Monsters and Marvels

In the next standalone high-stakes middle-grade fantasy by Alysa Wishingrad, the author of the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection The Verdigris Pawn, a misunderstood young girl named Dare is shipped to the mainland from her tiny island and uncovers startling secrets behind her father’s death, the island itself, and the monsters that lend its lore.

Monsters are still lurking on Barrow’s Bay.

Dare Coates is sure of it. No drifter or ruffian could have killed her father, the Captain of the Guard, while he was on patrol. But everyone insists that monsters have been gone for years now. Dare’s mother. Her classmates. Even the governor, who swiftly marries her mother just months after her father’s death.
Dare’s suspicions grow even stronger when the governor suddenly ships her off to the mainland, away from any hope of uncovering the truth about her father’s death.

Or so she thinks. But when Dare finds solid proof that monsters still exist she starts to question everything she’s always known. Was her father who she thought he was? Who can she trust? Where is the line between good and evil?

The truth hides behind danger and deception.

But with the help of an unlikely crew of cohorts and a stray beastie, nothing can stop Dare from finding out what happened to her father and exposing who the real monsters are.

My Review

This is the first book by Alysa Wishingrad that I’ve read. I’d heard of THE VERDIGRIS PAWN, and I think it was one of those books that I kept seeing other reviewers talking about, but I haven’t read it yet. The themes in this story about truth and deception and puzzling out who to trust in an unpredictable world drew me straight into this book.

I loved the way Dare wrestles with distrust and loneliness. Sometimes her loneliness pushes her to be open with someone, even if it’s simply to keep the conversation going and keep her loneliness at bay a little longer. She quickly learns that not everyone who appears friendly actually is, and some have dark motives hidden under layers of lies.

I liked the way the fantasy world of Barrows Bay and City-on-the-Pike came together. It’s a world of monsters, secrets, and illusions. Every time Dare thinks she has things figured out, she peels back a new layer and has to reevaluate based on what’s underneath.

I found her loneliness to be really easy to connect with. She is odd and something of an outcast, and that’s captured so well in the story. Anyone who has ever felt excluded by peers or as though they’re out of place in their own family will be able to connect with Dare. That loneliness also makes it a real celebration when Dare forges true friendships and sees the fruit of those connections in the story.

All in all, this is one I want for my family library. It’s whimsical and fun but also packed with a lot of heart. It’s an authentic story of friendship.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white or white-passing.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Dare believes monsters with strange abilities still exist.

Violent Content
Reference to animal abuse (not shown on scene). Situations of peril. Some brief battle scenes. A brief description of Dare’s father’s death. She learns he was beheaded.

Drug Content
List.

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 BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria by Adi Alsaid

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The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria
Adi Alsaid
Aladdin Books
Published September 5, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria

Phineas and Ferb meets the Despicable Me series in this hilarious and heartwarming middle grade debut from acclaimed author Adi Alsaid about a wannabe hero who lives in a goofily evil kingdom where nefarious schemes abound.

Welcome to Nefaria, where nearly every day the kingdom faces another evil scheme.

Most are harmless, though, so the citizens of Nefaria simply learn to live with the latest hijinks and go on with their lives. This includes Bobert Bougainvillea, who is much more concerned with the fact that he seems to be invisible. From the teachers in his school to his classmates, almost no one notices Bobert, no matter how visible he tries to be. Then everything changes when Bobert follows his classmates to a cursed gumball machine.

Before he knows it, Bobert is sucked into one of Nefaria’s most villainous evil schemes, a plot that has been a long time in the making—too long, in the evil wizard Matt’s opinion. And retreating into invisibility this time won’t do, not when Bobert is the only one with the drive, knowledge, and—if his newfound courage doesn’t fail him—bravery to foil Matt’s plan.

My Review

I’ve read a couple of young adult books by Adi Alsaid, and when I heard about his middle grade debut, I could totally see how his writing style would suit middle grade as well as young adult. He has this incredible sense of when to shift point-of-view and how to piece scenes together to show all the important moments in a story.

THE BRAVEST WARRIOR IN NEFARIA is packed with silliness. Think A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS in a fantasy landscape. The characters’ names are silly, from the main character, Bobert, to the kids he hopes to call his friends, Candelabra, Stanbert, and Jennizabeth. They live in a kingdom in which evil schemes are as common as Mondays and sometimes annoying but harmless.

Before the story truly gets underway, Bobert already has a problem in which he is invisible to the people around him. He mostly winds up following other kids around and staying near them, but not really interacting with them, until one day, he plows right into the back of a group of kids walking toward town. I loved the way the story resolves this particular problem of Bobert’s and the way what he experiences changes how he feels about his invisibility.

On the whole, the absolute refusal to take itself too seriously and the never-ending antics make this book lots of fun. It’s got subtle messaging wrapped in humor, a fabulous combination. I hope Adi Alsaid writes more middle grade– though I thoroughly enjoy his young adult novels, too!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Bobert is described as having an olive skin tone.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. Spellbooks teach how to perform or undo spells.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to evil schemes that have caused harm. Kidnapping children. Controlling others (using magic) against their will.

Drug Content
None.

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 THE BRAVEST WARRIOR IN NEFARIA in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Deephaven by Ethan M. Aldridge

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Deephaven
Ethan M. Aldridge
Quill Tree Books
Published September 5, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Deephaven

From Ethan M. Aldridge, bestselling creator of ESTRANGED, comes a gothic middle grade prose novel that follows a nonbinary student who is drawn to their boarding school’s forbidden east wing, where something stalks the shadowy corridors. Perfect for fans of J. A. White and Mary Downing Hahn!

When Guinevere “Nev” Tallow receives an acceptance letter to the exclusive Deephaven Academy, they know it’s the fresh start that they’ve been looking for. But things are strange from the moment they arrive—the house itself seems to breathe, students whisper secrets in dark corridors, and the entire east wing of the academy is locked away for reasons no one wants to explain. And Nev knows something ragged stalks the shadowy corridors, something that sobs quietly and scratches at the walls, waiting to be released. With the help of another first-year student, Nev takes it upon themself to unravel the mysteries hidden in Deephaven’s halls. But will they risk their fresh start to bring the academy’s secret to light?

My Review

Since I’ve read everything I can find that Ethan Aldridge has ever written (including these charming short stories), I knew I would read DEEPHAVEN. I didn’t realize at first that it was a prose novel, so I was a little surprised when I started the first page. But the story of Nev and the strange school they were going to attend pretty quickly drew me in.

Nev, especially, is such a cool character. They are always picking up bits of things– screws, bobbins, stuff like that– which they save and use to create mechanical toys. I loved the descriptions of them working on the toys. The author describes Nev as having a magpie mind, and I loved that.

The story contains black and white illustrations spaced throughout, usually one toward the end of each chapter. I thought the author made really great choices as to which moments of the story to illustrate. It really helped me grasp the characters and reinforced the creepy setting of the boarding school.

The book is under 300 pages, so it’s a pretty quick read. I enjoyed it. I think readers who prefer graphic novels but maybe want to branch out into prose should give this one a try. Definitely, other fans of the author’s work will want to add DEEPHAVEN to their collections.

Content Notes for Deephaven

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Nev is nonbinary. Nev’s best friend is Black. Two minor characters, upper-grade girls, are in a romantic relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Nev hears rumors that ghosts live in the abandoned East Wing of the school. Some characters have the ability to perform magic. Nev discovers what appears to be a monster.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A boy stabs a dangerous creature with a fencing foil. A dangerous creature threatens Nev and their friend.

Drug Content
None.

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 DEEPHAVEN in exchange for my honest review.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays

Check out other blogs posting about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones

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Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara
S. Jae-Jones
Wednesday Books
Published August 1, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.

Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appease her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible.

In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.

My Review

I don’t know why I mistook this for middle grade when I first agreed to review it. Maybe the cover reminded me of a different middle grade title? I’m not sure. At any rate, the book page on Amazon recommends it for ages fourteen and up. I think maybe 11 or 12-year-olds could read it just fine, though.

My favorite thing about the book is definitely the way Zhara and Han relate to one another. They’re so cute. She gets all giggly, and he is so easily flustered. I loved it! I also loved Xu, Han’s best friend and often the voice of wisdom.

The story has some strong Cinderella vibes, but I wouldn’t call it a Cinderella retelling. I definitely see the comparison to CINDER— which was a Cinderella retelling couched in a story of revolution. Similarly, GUARDIANS OF THE DAWN: ZHARA follows characters through political upheaval and what could lead to revolution.

I’m super curious about what the rest of the series will be like. Will each subsequent book contain elements of a familiar fairytale, a la The Lunar Chronicles or the Everland series? I hope it does. I would love to see more East Asia-inspired remixes of fairytale stories.

All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot, especially the character interactions. I’m really eager to read more of this series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The Land of the Morning Realms is inspired by East Asia. More than one minor character is LGBTQIA+.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity very rarely used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to romantic encounters between other couples, including same-gender couples. Characters discuss romance novels and explicit novels– the quotes and titles included are metaphorical.

Spiritual Content
Magic exists as a balance between order and chaos. Chaos includes demons, which can be summoned and can possess someone with magic. Powerful magicians have the ability to battle those forces of chaos.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Domestic violence. Some graphic descriptions of battle and monsters.

Drug Content
Zhara’s stepmother frequently gets drunk and physically/emotionally abuses her and her sister.

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 GUARDIANS OF THE DAWN: ZHARA in exchange for my honest review.