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Review: A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

A Far Wilder Magic
Allison Saft
Wednesday Books
Published March 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Far Wilder Magic

When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.

Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist–yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he’s landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it’s like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt – if they survive that long.

In A FAR WILDER MAGIC, Allison Saft has written an achingly tender love story set against a deadly hunt in an atmospheric, rich fantasy world that will sweep you away.



My Review

I really, really liked Allison Saft’s debut, DOWN COMES THE NIGHT, so my expectations for A FAR WILDER MAGIC were set pretty high. For the most part, I think the book delivered on my hopes. The setting feels raw and strange and a bit like a fantasy version of a tiny seaside English town.

Margaret’s character is tragic and closed, but so full. She is a closet full of emotions. Wes is awkward and charming and sometimes a bit doofy, but in a lost puppy kind of way that I found endearing. I loved his sisters, especially Mad and Colleen.

Probably the thing that I struggled with most– which is totally a me issue– is that the book is written in third person, present tense. I don’t know why I tripped over that so much, but I know it slowed me down in my reading because I kept translating it to past tense in my head and then confusing myself. It took a long time for my brain to get with the program on that one, unfortunately.

Other than that, I was pretty easily swept away by the story and characters. I liked the mythical, magical hunt, though I think I kept waiting for something else to happen with the hala, for it to turn out to be not what they expected. And I guess in some ways it wasn’t, but not in the ways I thought it might.

I thought the way the author set up different religious groups/cultures and the animosity between them was really interesting, too. It took me a long time to interpret some of the representation, but some of the clues are pretty obvious. I like the way this reviewer explains it on her Goodreads review.

On the whole, though, I really enjoyed reading it, especially for the moments of banter between characters and some of the sweet, awkward exchanges between Wes and pretty much anyone else. Ha.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up

Representation
Margaret is a Jewish-coded character, called Yu’adir in the book. Wes and his family are Banvish immigrants (kind of a fantasy version of Irish Catholic). Both experience racism and prejudice.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief reference to two men being married. One of Wes’s sisters dates girls. Kissing between a boy and girl. References to oral sex. One scene includes nudity and sex.

Spiritual Content
Margaret remembers Shabbos dinners and celebrations with her father, and longs to learn more about her heritage. Wes has been raised to believe that the hala are holy, created by God and containing part of God’s divinity, so that they should not be killed. Both their belief systems are at odds with the majority culture and religion.

Violent Content
Violence against animals and animal death. Situations of peril. Some reference to racist slurs. Two boys get into a fight more than once. Some animals are injured and killed by a magical creature. A boy is also pretty severely injured by the creature.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol socially.

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 A FAR WILDER MAGIC in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu

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

Wingbearer
Marjorie Liu
Illustrated by Teny Issakhanian
Quill Tree Books
Published March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Wingbearer

Zuli is extraordinary–she just doesn’t realize it yet. Raised by mystical bird spirits in the branches of the Great Tree, she’s never ventured beyond this safe haven. She’s never had to. Until now.

When a sinister force threatens the life-giving magic of the tree, Zuli, along with her guardian owl, Frowly, must get to the root of it. So begins an adventure bigger than anything Zuli could’ve ever imagined–one that will bring her, along with some newfound friends, face-to-face with an ancient dragon, the so-called Witch-Queen, and most surprisingly of all: her true identity.

This captivating middle grade graphic novel, the first of a series, is perfect for fans of the Amulet books and the Wings of Fire series.



My Review

I feel like I have a tendency to describe illustrations in graphic novels or children’s books as being really emotive. When I read WINGBEARER, though, I was blown away by how expressive Teny Issakhanian’s illustrations are. There are several panels that show closeups of Zuli’s face or just her eyes, and those were so powerful. I loved the way the images communicated a LOT of story, too. I felt like I got a deep sense of how the characters felt about each other from the way they were positioned in the illustrations and some of the looks exchanged between them.

The story is really moving, too. I love Zuli’s courage and her protectiveness over her allies. She has such a pure and loving heart. I couldn’t help holding my breath in some moments, wondering what would happen next and how she was going to navigate some of the obstacles in her way. I loved Frowly, the owl, too! Their friendship was so sweet.

I didn’t realize when I started reading this book that it’s the first in a series. I don’t read a lot of graphic novels (I didn’t realize this was a graphic novel when I agreed to review it, either), and I’m really bad about following a whole series, but I would definitely read this one.

Fans of ESTRANGED by Ethan Aldridge will love the otherworldly fantasy elements and beautifully illustrated panels in WINGBEARER.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Zuli is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Characters have magic abilities. Souls of animals come from and return to individual places. For birds, it’s a special tree. Zuli grows up there.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

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 WINGBEARER in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

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

Edgewood
Kristen Ciccarelli
Wednesday Books
Published March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Edgewood

No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.

When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.

Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.

With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

My Review

I always love reading about musicians and magical woods, and EDGEWOOD is loaded with both those things. Emmeline’s struggle for her career and her conflict about her home and the weird things her neighbors believe about the woods drew me into the story. I loved the cast of characters from the woods, too– Rook, Sable, and Hawthorne. This is the kind of story that sets itself up perfectly for fan fiction to be written about those characters. I would absolutely read that.

There were a couple of things that felt weird to me about the book, though. I guess Emmeline had to be older in order to be on her own, but the fact that she was nineteen but paired with other story elements and writing that felt definitively YA left me feeling a little off-step or something.

I also thought it was kind of weird that no one else in the woods knew who Emmeline was. Because of some other circumstances, it seemed like at least somebody would have put two and two together before she did. (Trying to avoid spoilers, sorry.)

At any rate, I liked the woods and its magic and the mystery of the curse. Overall, I’m not sorry I read the book. I think I was expecting something more like INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD by Joanna Ruth Meyer, and it’s a different kind of story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Main human characters are white. Two minor characters are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A couple of scenes show explicit sex. Several scenes show nudity, sometimes for the purpose of studying drawing.

Spiritual Content
A powerful curse spreads through the forest. Magical creatures fill the woods, some intent on killing anyone they encounter. Others are shapeshifters or other magical creatures.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle violence. The king has a long history of executing those who do not please him.

Drug Content
One character is known for putting unwanted spells in the drinks of others. She spikes Emmeline’s drink at one point.

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 EDGEWOOD in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher

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

Full Flight
Ashley Schumacher
Wednesday Books
Published February 22, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Full Flight

Everyone else in the tiny town of Enfield, Texas calls fall football season, but for the forty-three members of the Fighting Enfield Marching Band, it’s contest season. And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.

When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.

After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.

A heartbreaking novel about finding your first love and what happens when it’s over too soon. Ashley Schumacher’s FULL FLIGHT is about how first love shapes us—even after it’s gone.

My Review

This book broke me. Like. I’ve read lots of books where you know the love is doomed and someone is going to die. Sometimes, like with FULL FLIGHT, I know it before I pick up the book because it’s in the cover copy or the title (looking at you, THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END).

But I’ve never read a book like that and had the experience I had with this one. I had so much anxiety about Weston’s death. I knew it was coming. I’d breathe a huge sigh when the next chapter was his point-of-view. I’d panic when it was Anna’s perspective, and skim ahead until I saw him mentioned and still alive.

This one hit me really hard. And it was more than just liking both characters and finding their romance so sweet and adorable. Y’all. The writing here. Wow. I felt completely immersed. Marching band. The friendships. Music. Emotions. It all blew me away.

I loved Schumacher’s debut, AMELIA UNABRIDGED, and to be honest, I was excited about reading another book by her. I was also really nervous because I knew from the outset I was signing up for some heartbreak. It seemed impossible that I could like another book as much as AMELIA, and they’re not the same. But I loved this one, too.

All in all, I loved FULL FLIGHT. I loved the story (the cleverness of skipping chapter 25!), the characters, and how emotionally immersive it all was. Fans looking for laugh-out-loud great friendships, gorgeous romance and total heartbreak– I think I cried for like 30 minutes– definitely need this one on their lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Anna is fat.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently. Both Anna and Weston’s best friend Ratio don’t like him to curse.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mention of a kiss between two girls. Kissing between a boy and girl. They undress and it’s stated that they have sex, but no description of the event.

Spiritual Content
Weston and Anna live in a small town where most of the kids go to youth group and church as a social activity. Anna talks about how she’s been taught not to have premarital sex and to keep her thoughts pure.

Violent Content
Weston received some bullying text messages from drunk classmates a year earlier. He tells Anna about them.

Drug Content
Reference to teens drinking alcohol.

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 FULL FLIGHT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Dance of Twilight and Tears by Zara Mills

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

Dance of Twilight and Tears
Zara Mills
FinnStar Publishing
Published January 20, 2022

Amazon | Goodreads

About Dance of Twilight and Tears

Algae and toe shoes, feathers and tutus

Behind the gilded doors of the Paris Opéra Ballet, two best friends, Madeleine and Lucie, dance the night away. But at first morning light, their human bodies transform into webbed feet, billed lips, and wings.

When enchanted, the girls are the Bois de Boulogne’s famous black and white swans. For ninety years, they have floated in the lake, unable to find true love and break the evil Dance Master’s curse. But when Madeleine meets American transplant Zig Young, everything changes.

Suddenly, Madeleine wins a coveted solo spot in an upcoming ballet, and her growing relationship with Zig means she’s on the verge of breaking the enchantment. However, doing so means leaving the Bois, the ballet, and Lucie forever—something she’s not sure she can bear.

Desperate to not lose her best friend, Lucie will do anything to keep Madeleine with her—including betrayal. She’ll stop at nothing—even if it means breaking Madeleine’s heart and dooming her to life as a swan forever; even if she ruins her own chance at happiness.

In this retelling of Swan Lake, the lines of good and bad blur as Madeleine and Lucie struggle to choose between the life they want and their friendship.

My Review

This is the second book I’ve read in a week with main characters who are ballerinas, and I’m loving that! As a former dancer myself, I can never get enough ballet books.

I loved the way dance was incorporated into this story. It felt really authentic and definitely kept me envisioning moments in the Swan Lake ballet. I really enjoyed the complex relationship between Lucie and Madeleine (the black and white swans), too. The idea to retell the story of Swan Lake and center it around the characters Odette and Odile is an incredible one, and for the most part, I loved how that played out.

There were really only two things that I struggled with in the story. One was the backstory of the characters. So Henri, the sorcerer who cursed the girls to be swans by night and dancers by day, has this dark magic ability, but it’s never really explored how that happened. Is he the only one like that? Are there others out in the world somewhere? I know in the original story, it’s a thing we take for granted, so I was willing to let it pass in the book, too. But then we get some of the history of the girls, which just raised a lot of questions for me.

I think because it’s set in a contemporary world, I wanted more information so that I understood how the characters really fit within the setting. That part wasn’t that big of a deal, just left me with questions I wished were answered in the story.

Those Last Two Chapters

The other thing that tripped me up a bit was the last two chapters. I don’t want to include spoilers, so I’ll try to be really careful here. Things happened really fast in those last two chapters, the last one especially. I wasn’t opposed to the events– in fact some of the things were really cool– but I wish all of that had been built up to just a little bit more. And I wish it had played out over four or six chapters so that things felt more resolved, and I had more time to enjoy those moments. There’s also one part of the story that kind of gets shrugged off, and I found that not very satisfying. It’s a more minor plot, so it wasn’t that big of a deal, I just wished it had a more conclusive ending.

On the whole, I’m still glad I read DANCE OF TWILIGHT AND TEARS. I loved the ballet components and the friendship between Lucie and Madeleine. Also, I read the book pretty quickly. I think readers who enjoy fairy tale inspired stories set in a contemporary world will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. Unwanted kissing between the sorcerer and Lucie.

Spiritual Content
A sorcerer has imprisoned Lucie and Madeleine in a curse that transforms them into swans during the day and girls at night. He is the Ballet Master, so he has power over them during their night time lives, too. The curse can only be broken by true love.

Violent Content
The Ballet Master/sorcerer says cruel things to the girls and punishes them by making them dance until their feet bleed or transforming them into swans even at night if they disobey even his smallest commands.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at night clubs.

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 DANCE OF TWILIGHT AND TEARS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen

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You Truly Assumed
Laila Sabreen
Inkyard Press
Published February 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Truly Assumed

Sabriya has her whole summer planned out in color-coded glory, but those plans go out the window after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort. You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.

Soon two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join Bri to run You Truly Assumed and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so do the pushback and hateful comments. When one of them is threatened, the search to find out who is behind it all begins, and their friendship is put to the test when all three must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.

In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.

My Review

There are so many great things about this book. I loved that Sabriya, Farah, and Zakat form close bonds over blogging. I’ve had a couple blogging friends over the years, and those are always really cool relationships, so I loved getting to read about them. I also loved that they were so different from one another. Sabriya is a dancer, and I loved getting to see her in class and working on performances. It was cool seeing her world through the eyes of a Black dancer and all that meant to her. She’s also the blog founder and main writer.

Farah is super gifted at coding, so she brought some specific talent to the blog, too. I think from an emotional perspective, her story resonated with me the most. She reluctantly reconnects with her estranged father and meets his family for the first time. She also meets other Black Muslim girls in Boston, where he lives, and works with them on a vigil for a girl who was murdered.

Zakat has a totally different experience from the other girls as she grows up attending a Muslim school and surrounded by a lot of support for her faith. She’s an artist, and the descriptions of her work were really cool. I found myself wishing that the book included drawings or graphic panels representing her pieces, especially alongside the blog posts. I think that would have been really cool.

All three girls experience Islamophobic behavior in the wake of the attack in Washington DC. At first I thought it was an odd choice that we’re following three different girls from three different states, but as the events unfolded after the DC attack, choosing characters from different places made a lot of sense, because it showed how far-reaching the effects of the rising Islamophobia were and how it affected so many different communities.

I really liked the story and enjoyed all three main characters. I’m not even sure I could pick a favorite. They were all compelling stories. The only thing that tripped me up at all was the dialogue. I felt like a lot of characters sounded the same. It seemed like a lot of times the dialogue was written in long sentences or long paragraphs that didn’t feel very natural to me. That could just be me– I have definitely gotten spoiled for stories with a lot of blank space on the page around choppy, fast-paced dialogue. So that’s probably not a flaw, just a preference.

On the whole, though, I really enjoyed reading this book. I think readers who enjoyed MISFIT IN LOVE by S. K. Ali will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All three main characters are Black Muslim girls.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
References to Ramadan and Eid. Shows characters attending services, prayer, and receiving counsel from spiritual leaders.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for Islamophobia
Most of the physical violence happens off-scene. There are references to more than one violent attack which left people injured and killed. Other instances of vandalism occur. An alt-right site lists the girls’ blog on their website and people begin flooding the blog comments with Islamophobic and racist statements. Some of those are included in the text. The girls also experience Islamophobic comments in their daily lives, too.

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 YOU TRULY ASSUMED in exchange for my honest review.