Tag Archives: netgalley

Review: Rebel, Brave and Brutal by Shannon Dittemore

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,
Rebel, Brave and Brutal by Shannon Dittemore

Rebel, Brave and Brutal (Winter, White and Wicked #2)
Shannon Dittemore
Amulet Books
Published January 10, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Rebel, Brave and Brutal

The gripping sequel to Winter, White and Wicked that boasts the thrills of Mad Max: Fury Road and the icy magic of Frozen

Sylvi Quine, the best rig driver on Layce, has braved the dangers of the Shiv Road to save her friend and learned the truth of her power over Winter. Now, she’s joined the rebels working to take down the Majority. Her magic could change the course of their fight, and she agrees to meet the king of Paradyia to offer an exchange: the healing powers of the Pool of Begynd for his army.

The journey won’t be easy. To get there, Sylvi will have to navigate the Kol Sea, crossing through Winter’s storms and swarms of her Abaki—all while outrunning the Majority, who have sent their best Kol Master to track her down and bring her in, dead or alive.

But she isn’t traveling alone. Mars Dresden knows Sylvi is the key to freeing Layce, and demands she train like it. Kyn, the boy with stone flesh and a soft heart, is bound to Sylvi in more ways than one, a connection that both hurts and heals. And Lenore, Sylvi’s best friend, insists the Majority pay for what they’ve done to her parents. Even though her crew believes in her, Sylvi’s still learning to use her power, and Winter’s whispers are constant.

Will she be able to control Winter when it matters most? Or will this be the end of the rebellion?

My Review

I have not read WINTER, WHITE AND WICKED, but I had no trouble reading and following this book. Whatever backstory information I needed to know was pretty seamlessly included in the book. I don’t remember reading anything that felt info-dump-like.

One thing I did notice is how smooth the writing is. It’s been a while since I read anything by Shannon Dittemore, and I remembered that I liked DARK HALO when I read it, but I didn’t remember how great her writing is. It made the book feel easy to read.

The romance in REBEL, BRAVE AND BRUTAL is pretty understated. I liked the relationship between Kyn and Sylvi and the bond between them. I also liked that it didn’t dominate the story, but felt like a significant relationship.

Something about the book reminded me of the Storm Siren Trilogy by Mary Weber. I think fans of that series would really like this one. Possibly also fans of COLD THE NIGHT, FAST THE WOLVES by Meg Long.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Some minor characters are Shiv, or humans made from a combination of stone and flesh.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Sylvi has the ability to control the capricious spirit called Winter. She commands Winter’s magic, but pays a physical price for using her power. The Shiv believe in a creator called Begynd, who once healed people in the waters of a pool, now cursed.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to torture. Battle scenes.

Drug Content
Exposure to an ore called Kol, which is connected to magic, can become addictive and destructive to human bodies.

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 REBEL, BRAVE AND BRUTAL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Breakup From Hell by Ann Davila Cardinal

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Breakup From Hell
Ann Davila Cardinal
HarperTeen
Published January 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Breakup From Hell

Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.

It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.

Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.

She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?

Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, BREAKUP FROM HELL will keep you hooked until the last page.

My Review

This was a fun book to read. It’s got some suspense– the world may literally end if Mica and her friends can’t figure out how to stop it. But it’s also got a lot of fun banter between friends, a best friends to lovers thread, and a powerful main character with a strong connection to her mom and grandmother.

BREAKUP FROM HELL is set in a small Vermont town, which I also really liked. It feels very much like a small New England place, with a small downtown area filled with interesting shops and some surrounding farmland. I liked the way the story used the landscape at different points. It was kind of funny to see this quaint little town erupt with apocalyptic events.

I really liked the relationships between Mica and her friends, especially Zee and Rage. They were a loyal friend group with a very can-do approach to things. They stuck together and needed each other in order to piece everything together. I also loved Mica’s relationship with Abuela. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but they both loved each other so much, and ultimately wanted the best for one another. I thought Abuela’s notes on the fridge were fantastic.

All in all, I thought BREAKUP FROM HELL was a fun read, perfect for fans of paranormal books like BITTERWINE OATH by Hannah West.

Content Notes for Breakup From Hell

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Mica is Puerto Rican.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Mica learns that the boy she’s been dating has dark powers and dark spiritual connections. Some characters have supernatural abilities. Some items also have supernatural abilities. Evil creatures can’t come onto the sacred ground of a church or chapel. Mica and her friend witness an evil sacrifice.

Violent Content
Mica and her friend witness an evil sacrifice of a deer. Situations of peril. Brief battle violence. A powerful weapon vanquishes an evil character, turning them to ash.

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 BREAKUP FROM HELL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel by Antonio Iturbe, Salva Rubio, and Loreto Aroca

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

The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel
Antonio Iturbe
Illustrated by Loreto Aroca
Translated by Lilit Zekulin Thwaites
Adapted by Salva Rubio
Godwin Books/MacMillan
Published January 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this graphic novel tells the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

My Review

From the very beginning, Dita is a brave, strong character. Her love for books runs from the first page to the last. She cares not only for the books during her time at Auschwitz, but also for her mother and her friends.

The illustrations in the book really bring the story to life. Several scenes got me all teared up. It was easy to feel Dita’s anguish over the death of her father and her friend. I also had chills as she acted quickly to hide books from Nazi soldiers during an inspection, an act that saved everyone in her block.

After the story finishes, there are some sections that explain more of the history and give facts about some of the important characters. I enjoyed reading that as well.

All in all, this is an incredibly inspiring story that makes me want to know more about Dita Kraus and her life. I noticed on Amazon that there’s an autobiography of her life, so I’ll probably pick that up and add it to my reading list, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
The book is based on Dita Kraus, a Czechoslovakian Jewish woman who was imprisoned at Auschwitz as a teenager.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Nazi soldiers call a woman a slur.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple panels show a crowd of people stripped naked waiting for showers. The images don’t really detail private areas. One panel shows a group of women (still naked from an inspection) hugging because their lives have been spared. A group of boys tease Dita and ask to touch her breasts.

Kiss between two men.

Spiritual Content
Inside Auschwitz, Dita and others celebrate Passover.

Violent Content
Some panels show soldiers abusing prisoners by hitting them. One soldier tattoos Dita’s arm with a series of numbers. Dita hears that nearly 4,000 prisoners, many of them children, are executed. Dita hears that a man she considered a friend has died by suicide. (She’s later told this isn’t true.)

Dita is forced to carry bodies of prisoners who’ve died. One panel shows her at a distance, standing next to a pit of the dead.

Drug Content
Dita hears rumors that a man overdosed on pills and died. Some people believed it was an accidental overdose from an addiction. Others believed he died by suicide.

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 LIBRARIAN OF AUSCHWITZ: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

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

The Love Match
Priyanka Taslim
Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Published January 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Love Match

TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE meets PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.

Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.

Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.

But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.

My Review

I love that the author started with a note talking about some of the Bengali words and spelling in the book. It felt really welcoming, like she invited me in to celebrate Bengali culture and diaspora with her.

The first chapter of the book felt a bit chaotic to me. I think it was meant to, though. It’s a wedding, and there are a lot of things happening in and around Zahra. Once I got past that chapter, I fell head over heels into the story.

I loved Zahra so much. Her relationships with her family members, her best friends, and even her boss all felt so real. I also loved Harun and the way that there was so much more to him than his outward appearance.

The story definitely has PRIDE AND PREJUDICE vibes, which gives me even more reasons to love it. Zahra has all the wit and sense of humor of a modern day Elizabeth Bennet. And Harun bears the same sense of pride and the, at first, emotionally closed persona of a Mr. Darcy.

All in all, readers looking for a bright romance with some humor and family elements will find so much to love about THE LOVE MATCH.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Bengladeshi American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Two girls are in a relationship together.

Spiritual Content
Major characters are Muslim. The story mentions Eid and other holy days and celebrations. Zahra mentions that she and her family pray every day.

Violent Content
A girl throws food onto a boy’s face.

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 LOVE MATCH in exchange for my honest review.

Review: This Cursed Crown by Alexandra Overy

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

This Cursed Crown (These Feathered Flames #2)
Alexandra Overy
Inkyard Press
Published December 6, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This Cursed Crown

Awakening to find herself trapped in a strange tower, Izaveta knows she must find her way back to the Tóurensi palace and claim the throne. But even with an unexpected ally’s help, she worries she might not be able to get news of her survival to her sister and escape this frozen land.

Back at home, Asya enlists Nikov’s help to prove Izaveta is still alive, even as she finds herself forced to navigate the political world she always sought to avoid to save her queendom, her loved ones, and herself.

But as the sisters work independently to reunite, a dangerous force lies in wait, trying to regain power in order to overthrow the monarchy…

My Review

Last year I read and liked THESE FEATHERED FLAMES, so when I saw this sequel, I decided to read it and find out how the story ends. I enjoyed the story world a lot. There are some really interesting elements with magic. If someone uses magic, they have to pay a price. It can be as small as a few strands of hair or as large as someone’s life. If they don’t pay a price for using magic, then the Firebird, Asya, finds them and exacts the price through the power of the firebird, which lives in her.

I like that the story alternates between the points of view of the sisters Asya and Izaveta. I was really drawn to both points of view in this book, and I liked the complexity of their relationship.

The only thing that I struggled with reading this book is that it felt like it took a long time to read, especially at the beginning. Like, I felt like I’d been reading for a long time and when I checked my progress, I was only 10% through the book. I don’t know if the writing is more complex than other books that I usually read, or if the plot was slow to start or what.

Once I got to about the 40 or 50% mark, I seemed to be moving through the story more quickly. The end was pretty climactic, so that definitely helped.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the book and am glad that I read it. I think the end kind of made up for the slow start in its higher action and satisfying story elements.

I think readers who enjoyed the political intrigue and magical elements of SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo or THE WAKING LAND by Callie Bates will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Asya is in love with a woman.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently. Some made up curses used, too.

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

Spiritual Content
There’s a national religion whose leader holds a lot of power at court. Asya has the power of the firebird in her and is charged with maintaining the balance of magic in the kingdom.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence and torture using magic.

Drug Content
A reference to people drinking alcohol at a celebration.

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 CURSED CROWN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet

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

Belittled Women
Amanda Sellet
Clarion Books
Published November 29, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Belittled Women

Sharp and subversive, this delightfully messy YA rom-com offers a sly wink to the classic LITTLE WOMEN, as teenage Jo Porter rebels against living in the shadow of her literary namesake.

Lit’s about to hit the fan. Jo Porter has had enough LITTLE WOMEN to last a lifetime. As if being named after the sappiest family in literature wasn’t sufficiently humiliating, Jo’s mom, ahem Marmee, leveled up her Alcott obsession by turning their rambling old house into a sad-sack tourist attraction.

Now Jo, along with her siblings, Meg and Bethamy (yes, that’s two March sisters in one), spends all summer acting out sentimental moments at Little Women Live!, where she can feel her soul slowly dying.

So when a famed photojournalist arrives to document the show, Jo seizes on the glimpse of another life: artsy, worldly, and fast-paced. It doesn’t hurt that the reporter’s teenage son is also eager to get up close and personal with Jo–to the annoyance of her best friend, aka the boy next door (who is definitely not called Laurie). All Jo wants is for someone to see the person behind the prickliness and pinafores.

But when she gets a little too real about her frustration with the family biz, Jo will have to make peace with kitsch and kin before their livelihood suffers a fate worse than Beth.

My Review

It seems like there’s been more focus lately on LITTLE WOMEN. At least, BELITTLED WOMEN is the second story inspired by the classic that I’ve read this year. Which is pretty cool. I enjoy seeing how authors reinterpret familiar tales. (The other one is GREAT OR NOTHING.)

My favorite part about this book is the banter. It pretty much never stops. Jo and Amy. Jo and Hudson. And my favorite, Jo and David. So much back and forth and hilarity. I laughed aloud more than once.

References to the Writing of Little Women

One thing I’ll say, though is I wish the author had chosen to include an author’s note in the book clarifying some of the story’s assertions about Louisa May Alcott’s life and the writing of LITTLE WOMEN. I poked around the internet for maybe half an hour, and stumbled onto an article in the ATLANTIC about LITTLE WOMEN and the evolving interpretation of it as we learn more about the author’s life. This article on Mental Floss might also be helpful if you aren’t familiar with the story. I also read the sample pages of the book MEG, JO, BETH, AND AMY: THE STORY OF LITTLE WOMEN AND WHY IT STILL MATTERS by Anne Boyd Rioux.

Admittedly, that’s a pretty scant amount of research on my part. It did help clarify some of the things said in the book. The characters in BELITTLED WOMEN mention some information about Louisa May Alcott’s life and her other writing. One character states that Alcott referred to LITTLE WOMEN as “The Pathetic Family” but doesn’t clarify that is the nickname by which Alcott referred to her own family or really explore the context. It’s kind of meant to show her disdain for the story, and it’s stated by a character who has some ulterior motives, so it makes sense that she would avoid context.

Anyway. I found the story itself wildly entertaining and packed with fun. The Porter family dynamics reminded me a lot of the dynamics in the family of the movie LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. It’s lots of fun and also has a sweet romantic subplot to boot. I think fans of Emma Mills or Emma Lord will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. One minor character is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, a girl discovers a boy has purchased condoms in hopeful anticipation of them having sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Jo and her sister get into a fight during one scene of their show.

Drug Content
Teens drink beer at a party. One boy gets pretty drunk.

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 BELITTLED WOMEN in exchange for my honest review.