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Review: Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil

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The Swallowtail Legacy 2: Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil

Betrayal by the Book (The Swallowtail Legacy #2)
Michael D. Beil
Pixel+Ink
Published April 18, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Betrayal by the Book

A writer’s conference brings twelve-year-old Lark’s favorite writer–and a suspicious death–to Swallowtail Island, in the second book in this middle grade mystery series by an Edgar Award-nominated author.

Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark’s ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart.

But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn’t sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file’s vanished from her computer.

Then Lark finds out the assistant had a bird–the match to the one she found hidden in her mom’s book–and she needs answers. It looks like Swallowtail Island still has secrets to reveal, and Lark’s going to uncover them.

A gripping new chapter in the Swallowtail Legacy series, Mike D. Beil spins another clever clue hunt that seamlessly slips in alongside the best classics of middle grade mystery.

My Review

I read the first book in this series, WRECK AT ATA’S REEF last year, and really enjoyed it. So, I was excited to see that this second book was coming out this year. Like the first, it’s set on a small island, and features some of Lark’s many family members.

I really liked that the story takes place during a writer’s conference at which Lark is a volunteer helper to her favorite author. Though the conference itself stays more in the background, it still managed to hit a lot of key moments from a conference: panels, hurt feelings over harsh feedback, encouraging words from a beloved author, and disorganized statements from someone clearly underprepared.

I had very strong suspicions about who was responsible for the assistant’s death even before I read the first page of the story, and I was right. So, that made it a little difficult for me to enjoy Lark’s journey unraveling the clues.

I also expected the bird figurine to tie into the mystery somehow? It remained pretty separate, though. Because that thread began in the first book, I kind of wonder if it’s something that will be the center of a mystery in the next book in the series? I haven’t heard anything, so I don’t know.

All in all, I think I’d have enjoyed this one a bit more if I hadn’t figured out the mystery so quickly. I still enjoyed the island community and Lark’s role as a conference volunteer. I’m not sorry I read the book. The series still makes me think of the Northwoods Mysteries by Margi Preus.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lark wonders whether she’s attracted to a boy on the island.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Lark responds to a scream and sees the dead body of a woman who has apparently died of an allergic reaction. (No blood, just open blank eyes, clearly not breathing, cold to the touch.)

Drug Content
Ann Keyheart gets drunk in several scenes and slurs her words or behaves rudely.

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 BETRAYAL BY THE BOOK in exchange for my honest review.

Middle Grade Mondays!

Greg at Always in the Middle does a Monday roundup of posts about middle grade books and news. Check out today’s Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays!

Review: One for All by Lillie Lainoff

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One for All
Lillie Lainoff
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
Published March 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About One for All

An OwnVoices, gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.

Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.

With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.

This debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love.

My Review

I’ve been wanting to read this book since before it came out! I wasn’t able to get a pre-release copy, but a group that I write editorial reviews for sent me a copy a while ago, so I cleared my schedule and sat down to read it!

The setting swept me away. I loved getting lost in the beautiful descriptions of places and lovely dresses and parties. Tania also spends a good deal of time practicing fencing, so I loved getting to read about some of the technical side of that. I thought those descriptions were easy to follow (and I know nothing of fencing) and well-paced.

The characters are charming, too. I loved the girls Tania joins at Madame Treville’s establishment. They each bring different talents and sensibilities to the team of Mousquetaires. Also, I loved reading about them getting to know one another and building relationships with each other. I kind of wish we had gotten to know Henri a bit more, but it makes sense that the story would focus on the four girls.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Though I can’t speak for the accuracy of the representation, I can say as a reader, Tania’s experience was very accessible. Her illness intruded into her life in some ways, but it didn’t define her. Sometimes it meant she had to work hard to compensate for her limits as best as she could, and other times it meant she leaned on people she could trust. I thought that seemed like a great balance, and it kept the story from being dominated by her symptoms and Tania centerstage.

On the whole, I loved it. I would definitely read more by Lillie Lainoff, so I’m excited to see what she writes next. I think readers who enjoy historical fiction like THE RING AND THE CROWN by Melissa de la Cruz will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Tania is disabled and has POTS.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Brief profanity in French used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to girls’ reputations and the harm that rumors about them being taken advantage of or being caught in a romantic position could do. References to an assault that happened before the story began.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Tania and her sisters in arms take lessons in fencing. Some situations of peril occur. Some brief battle violence, no graphic injuries.

Drug Content
References to social drinking at parties and dinners.

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 book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Blood and Feathers by Beth Revis

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Blood and Feathers
Beth Revis
Scripturient Books
Published on July 6, 2022

Amazon | Kindle Vella | Goodreads

About Blood and Feathers

Sine is the spare, not the heir, to her father’s kingdom near the lands of wild magic. Her family guards the wall that keeps the monsters out.

Rigby was born on the other side of the wall, one of the monsters who wears a human face.

Sine will do anything to keep the wall up and protect her people. Rigby will do anything to tear the wall down and break the bonds that hold his people back, no matter who he must betray…or sacrifice.

In this epic fantasy novel by NY Times bestselling author Beth Revis, the bonds of family, friendship, and love are tested as the truth of magic–and the price paid for it–is discovered after generations of deceit. Originally uploaded on Kindle Vella.

My Review

I started reading BLOOD AND FEATHERS when about half the episodes were published on Kindle Vella. The story immediately hooked me. It’s my favorite thing that I’ve read by Beth Revis so far, so I continued reading as each new episode came out, all the way to the end.

I love the symmetry of it. BLOOD AND FEATHERS is told from two perspectives: Sine, who wants to protect her kingdom and her brother Jude most of all. And Rigby, who will do anything to protect his sister and his people. From the beginning, those desires are in direct conflict with one another, so everything that happens to benefit one creates a challenge for the other. I couldn’t stop reading– I really wanted to see what would happen if they ever ran into each other and shared information.

There are also great side characters in this book. Princess Sine decides that she needs her ladymaids to also be combat trained, since she’s found a threatening note which seems to indicate she’s in danger. As she pursues companions with training, she builds a really cool team of allies that I loved so much.

I felt like this story kept me on the edge of my seat. Even though I’ve reached the end, I am still thinking about it, and I really want to know what is going to happen next. The way it ends pretty much promises a follow-up, so I will definitely be on the lookout for that.

Content Notes for Blood and Feathers

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Some characters are described as having bronze-toned skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Magic keeps Sine’s kingdom safe, but it comes at a high price.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Multiple scenes showing battles. Some gruesome descriptions of magic rituals.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

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

Daughter of the Siren Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #2)
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 27, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Siren Queen

Alosa’s mission is finally complete. Not only has she recovered all three pieces of the map to a legendary hidden treasure, but the pirates who originally took her captive are now prisoners on her ship. Still unfairly attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate Riden is a constant distraction, but now he’s under her orders. And she takes great comfort in knowing that the villainous Vordan will soon be facing her father’s justice.

When Vordan exposes a secret her father has kept for years, Alosa and her crew find themselves in a deadly race with the feared Pirate King. Despite the danger, Alosa knows they will recover the treasure first . . . after all, she is the daughter of the Siren Queen.

My Review

I finally read the first book in this series a few months ago, and I knew it couldn’t be long before I read the second (and final) one. I really wanted to know how things progressed with the quest to reach the island where Alosa’s mother, the Siren Queen was rumored to live. I desperately wanted to know what would happen between her and Riden. And I was very eager for a confrontation between Alosa and her father, because that definitely needed to happen!

The story scratched all those itches for me, and for the most part, I felt like they all exceeded my expectations. The only thing that felt a little bit underwhelming for me had to do with Alosa’s mom. I think I was expecting her to be… more something. Complicated? Morally gray?

She definitely is not a morally pure character, as she’s a siren and behaves as sirens in this story universe do. (See content notes below.) So it wasn’t that she was pure. I guess maybe I just found it a little weird that she was also sort of scripted as the perfect, loving mother in some ways? I don’t know. For sure I read the first scene with her in it and was like, wait, that’s her mom?

On the whole, though, I enjoyed the story. I appreciated that the sirens’ behavior is more strongly condemned in this book than in the first one. And I loved seeing both Riden and Alosa grow as characters and find their way through personal battles and issues to figure out what they wanted from each other.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. She takes of his shirt. In one scene, it’s clear they intend to have sex.

There are also some sexual comments about both women and men.

Spiritual Content
Alosa’s mother is a siren, and she herself possesses the ability to sing and command men to do as she wants them to. All sirens have that power.

Violent Content – Content warning for rape.
Sirens desire to drag men under the water, rape them and murder them. It’s discussed but not shown on scene. There are scenes in which sirens drag men under water with them and disappear into the ocean.

There are also several scenes showing some pretty gruesome violence/torture. Someone shoots prisoners trying to make another prisoner tell secrets in order to save others. Some mentions of childhood abuse. They’re brief, but pretty intense.

Drug Content
One character is an alcoholic and gives up drinking. Alosa keeps a supply of rum on the ship and rations it out to her crew.

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

Review: A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

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A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3)
Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury YA
Published January 26, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Vow So Bold and Deadly

Face your fears, fight the battle.

Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.

Fight the battle, save the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

My Review

It took me a long time to read this book. Not because of the writing or the book itself, just… it’s the end of the series. And I was pretty much Team Rhen from the beginning, so I knew this one wasn’t going to be easy, because he goes through some stuff. But I also love the other characters, especially Harper, and really wanted to see how their stories play out. Plus, if you haven’t yet heard, Kemmerer is beginning a new spin-off series this year (which has Tycho in it as a lord???) so I didn’t want to fall behind.

There’s a line in the book where Harper is thinking about Grey and Rhen’s relationship and where things went wrong between those two. She’s thinking about the mistakes they both made and whether that justifies war between them. She concludes this: “one bad choice should not undo a thousand good ones.”

If you know what’s been going on in my personal life the last few months, you probably already know that would hit me really deep. I mean, you could argue that there are some loopholes there depending on what that one bad choice is (murder maybe?). But I’d argue that the thousand choices are a good measure of the person’s true character. If one choice out of a thousand is a bad choice, probably it was a mistake, and there are probably reasons it happened. (Which is pretty much Harper’s point.)

Anyway, obviously the story resonated with me in ways outside the book. I loved the way the story explores the way mistakes impact a relationship but how hope and courage to rebuild that trust impact a relationship, too.

There are so many moments in this book that I needed to happen. Things between Rhen and Harper. Things between Lia Mara and Grey. But things for those characters individually, too. Stuff that they’ve been carrying that we’ve all known they need to face up to. There are shocking moments and moments that broke my heart, too. It’s a really fitting conclusion to this series packed with huge characters and gigantic emotions.

On the whole, I’m so glad I finally read A VOW SO BOLD AND DEADLY. I’m excited about the spinoff, FORGING SILVER INTO STARS, which comes out later this year, too. Sometimes I’m able to get Brigid Kemmerer’s books for review (probably a higher likelihood since it’s the first book in a new series??) but not always. Either way, I’m sure I’ll be reading it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Harper has Cerebral Palsy. (It’s not mentioned specifically in this book, but it is in A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY.) Harper’s brother Jake is gay and in a relationship with a Black man. (Both minor characters.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl which sometimes leads to more. Some descriptions of undressing and leading up to sex. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
A sorceress once held Rhen under a terrible curse, leaving him terrified of magic. Grey also has the ability to perform magic. Another character does as well.

Violent Content
Battle violence and situations of peril. Some graphic descriptions of violence and references to torture.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol.

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

Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

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

Daughter of the Pirate King
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 28th 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Pirate King

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

My Review

I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book. First, I loved Alosa. She’s fierce and smart and knows how to bide her time and wait for the right moments to do what she needs to do. I also loved Riden. He’s so conflicted, so caught between what he wants and protecting people he cares about and doing the right thing. But he’s also a pirate, so kind of unpredictable, definitely living by his own code of ethics. Once I understood how that code worked, I was a huge fan of him.

So… consent stuff. Alosa is a captive aboard a pirate ship. She arranges for herself to be captured and makes it clear (to the reader) that she can come and go from her cell pretty much at will. When she experiences a romantic advance from one of the other pirates, it’s not clear whether she wants him to behave like he does. I guess it’s clear she could stop him if she wanted to, but it felt a little weird to me. Maybe I’ve just come to appreciate the recent books where consent is made really clear.

There’s also some backstory referring to the way sirens treat their victims that isn’t ever really addressed in the story. At one point, a character comments on the sirens’ behavior (See below for details.) and Alosa kind of dismisses it like, yeah, but the pirates had harmful intentions, too. I don’t know. I wish the book addressed this in the story more clearly.

Conclusion

Aside from that, I liked a lot of other things– the adventure on a pirate ship, the enemies to lovers romance, the banter between characters, and the fierce heroine. I want to read the second book in this duology, DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN. Some of the reviews on Goodreads indicate that this book better addresses consent issues.

Readers who enjoyed SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo or IMPRISON THE SKY by A. C. Gaughen will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning for Mentions of Rape
A pirate captain implies that he will let his crew rape Alosa. One of the crew members is a serial rapist. He stands guard over Alosa’s cell and continually leers at her. He reaches into the cell (she stands out of his reach but is unable to sleep while he’s there.). At one point he grabs her and licks her neck.

Sirens live in the ocean, but journey to the surface to capture men before dragging them to the bottom of the sea, raping, and killing them. The story states this more than once, but no graphic description.

Kissing between a boy and girl. It’s an enemies to lovers situation, and it’s not really clear if some of the kisses/touches are welcome or not. I had weird feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Sirens are powerful beings whose song controls men.

Violent Content
Graphic battle violence. Some scenes include references to torture and some descriptions of it.

Drug Content
One pirate is clearly an alcoholic. There’s reference to others drinking alcohol, too.

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