Review: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series.

A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3)
By V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: With the shadow king Osaron on the verge of taking control of Red London and all of its people, Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard race to discover a way to stop him. They find themselves bargaining with shady figures, making unlikely allies, and sacrificing whatever is necessary in order to stand even the smallest chance against Osaron. As unstoppable as the shadow king seems, though, his weakness may be underestimating the determination of those fighting to save Arnes.

Review: I may have set a personal record for longest amount of time taken to read a book while reading A Conjuring of Light. It took me about five months from start to finish. This had absolutely nothing to do with the book itself and everything to do with my mindset due to all the goings on outside the world of books. Finally, though, I found myself with some time to get reacquainted with this novel, and once I dove back into its fantastic world of magic, multiple Londons, and a many-sided coat, I devoured the remaining pages, reading more in two days than I had in almost two months.

The previous book in the series, A Gathering of Shadows, ended on one hell of a cliffhanger, and mercifully, A Conjuring of Light dives right into seeing its resolution. Don’t be fooled into thinking, however, that the book is done giving you heart palpitations because it’s only just beginning. I felt rather wrecked by the time I was done reading A Conjuring of Light. Even when there isn’t an action scene taking place, the threat posed by Osaron, the evil magic that’s taking over Red London, is always so palpable that you’re on edge for just about the entire book, waiting for the next stab to your heart, as sharp as one of Lila Bard’s knives or quips.

Osaron seems such an unstoppable foe, and every clash with the shadow king and the unwilling followers he creates by invading their minds is a fierce battle. Not only do Kell, Lila, and Alucard need to contend with that in order to escape Red London in the hope of finding an object that may help them, but they also have to fight off vicious pirates and literally bargain with their lives. Sacrifice also looms large over the main characters, both the ones who wield magic and those who do not, as they’re all pushed to their physical and emotional limits—sometimes beyond.

In addition to creating an incredibly immersive magical world, Victoria Schwab has exquisitely crafted complex characters. What I especially love about them is that they’re flawed. They make mistakes, and there are consequences, and that is what makes them so relatable. Schwab also possesses a knack for writing the best morally gray characters, like Victor Vale from Vicious and Holland from Shades of Magic. Holland has been an intriguing, complicated character from the outset of the series, and with the addition of some backstory in A Conjuring of Light, Schwab once again demonstrates just how gifted she is at creating characters with seemingly endless depth.

I absolutely love badass thief/pirate Delilah Bard. No matter how hard or how many times this resilient lady gets knocked down, she gets back up and keeps fighting. I can’t emphasize enough how intense this book can be at times, usually with Lila right in the thick of the action.

My list of favorite things about this book and this series could go on and on, so I’ll only mention one last highlight: the bond between Kell and Rhy. Of course, it goes way beyond just being brothers because of the magic Kell used to tie their lives together in order to save Rhy’s life. Here again, Schwab examines all of the facets of Kell’s actions back in A Darker Shade of Magic. Yes, Rhy is alive, but he continues to struggle with the weight of what happened to him as well as with the weight of his crown—a prince without magic whose people are under attack all around him. Rhy’s arc is as compelling as it is outstanding, and the same can be said for the arcs of Kell, Lila, Alucard, and Holland.

As a series finale, A Conjuring of Light delivers in every way imaginable. It’s heart-pounding, sometimes even humorous thanks to the witty dialogue, occasionally heartbreaking, and most definitely magical.

All in All: If you love books about magic, this series is not to be missed. A Conjuring of Light is an absolutely stellar close to Shades of Magic. Anoshe, indeed.

Review: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

Blood Rose Rebellion (Blood Rose Rebellion #1)
By Rosalyn Eves
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format: Print ARC
Source: Publisher

To Sum It Up: Anna Arden’s family belongs to the elite Luminate—those who can wield magic. Anna, however, is Barren and unable to use magic, but she seems to possess the ability to break spells. After unintentionally wreaking havoc at her sister’s debut into Luminate society, Anna is sent to her grandmother’s native Hungary. Even there, though, the Luminate’s ruling Circle tracks her because her ability could possibly break even the Binding, the spell that keeps magic in Luminate hands alone.

Review: I’ve been in the reading slump from hell since the beginning of the year, and I really, really, really hoped that Blood Rose Rebellion would prove to be the slump-breaker. Alas, it was not.

I started feeling iffy about this book very early on, and I should’ve just listened to my intuition and called it a DNF. I hate not giving books a fair chance, though, and by the time I realize that a book isn’t for me, I’ve already invested so much time in it that I might as well just finish it. That’s what happened here.

I had some rather big issues with the book’s protagonist, Anna. The novel quickly makes it clear that she’s yet another special heroine. Anna’s family belongs to the elite Luminate class, those who have access to magic. Despite her family’s lineage, Anna is Barren, unable to wield magic. She does, however, exhibit an ability to break spells, and jealousy drives her to inadvertently break her older sister Catherine’s spell demonstration during Catherine’s grand entrée into Luminate society. Anna losing it just because Catherine’s spell reveals they were crushing on the same guy, Freddy, irked me quite a bit, especially since Freddy, who doesn’t even have a large role in the book, proves to deserve neither girl’s heart in his limited page time. Anna then proceeds to continue mentioning Freddy every once in a while when he should have been long forgotten.

Anna also assesses every guy she meets as a potential love interest, including her distant cousin. Even when she finally settles her attention on one of them, it still feels insta-love-y. The romance here was a complete no-go for me. I also found Anna condescending, as well as self-pitying over her lack of magic. Although she sheds some of her superior attitude by the book’s end, it’s not gradual enough to really illustrate any character growth.

In addition to never clicking with Anna, the novel’s pacing made this a long, slow read. After the disastrous debut, Anna is shipped off from England to her grandmother’s native Hungary, where rebellion is stirring. Emphasis on the stirring, because nothing actually materializes for quite some time. The rebellion aspect is one of the book’s highlights; the revolutionaries are fighting for an independent Hungary and to break the Binding, the spell keeping magic in the hands of the upper class Luminate. It’s an interesting mix of history, politics, and fantasy, but it takes some time for the revolution to ignite. In the meantime, Anna waffles over whether or not to use her power to break the Binding, which for me was not compelling reading.

It’s almost always impossible for me to read past a main character I don’t connect with at all, and unfortunately, Anna’s character and narration just didn’t work for me. The magic and the way it was tied to the social order had potential, but the majority of the book focused on Anna’s ultra special special-ness and a romance that was pretty standard YA fare.

All in All: The mid-19th century Hungary setting and the magic are the two highlights here, but everything else, including the protagonist and the insta-love, overshadowed them.

Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter #8)
By J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

Review: Oh man—I don’t know if I’ve ever been more daunted by the prospect of writing a review. I mean, this is Harry Potter. Thanks to my fantastic failure at rereading the series since I started blogging, I’ve never reviewed any of the HP books until now. I wasn’t even going to write a review of Cursed Child, especially since I hadn’t reviewed any of the novels. I thought I might write something about Cursed Child for the blog for next year’s Harry Potter Month event, but now that I’ve finished reading it, I’m finding that I need to talk through my feelings a bit. Now. And in the form of a review.

Before proceeding, I’d like to beg pardon in advance for my vagueness throughout this review because just about every plot element is a HUGE spoiler. Please also excuse all of the italics; I’m feeling some strong emotions about this one.

Going into both reading and reviewing Cursed Child with anything remotely resembling objectivity was impossible. Again, it’s Harry Potter. I did try not to get hung up on the format and kept in mind that I was reading a script of a play meant to be performed on the stage. It was a bit of an adjustment reading about our beloved trio again because seven novels preceded Cursed Child, but it wasn’t a distraction.

Perhaps due to the play format, Cursed Child drops bombshell revelation after bombshell revelation. I can’t emphasize bombshell enough. There are so many plot twists packed into this, maybe because it has to deliver a conflict and its resolution by the end of the fourth act and not a seventh novel, but it’s still a lot to digest. I found some of the surprises plausible within the existing framework of the Potterverse but others . . . maybe not so much? One in particular definitely needed the details filled in but alas, they were not, leaving a rather large continuity gap.

As much as I hate saying this, I also felt that consistency was kind of an issue for the characters. Ron gets shortchanged the most, I think; his primary role in Cursed Child seems to be the comic relief. As for Harry, there was a line of his that makes me wince every time I think back on it. I get that living a normal life probably continued to be tough after he defeated Voldemort because there was no escaping being Harry Potter, one of the most famous wizards ever. I cannot, however, ever picture Harry uttering these words, even at his angriest. They certainly amplify the dramatic tension in this scene, but in my opinion at the expense of Harry acting in a very uncharacteristic manner.

I know that so far, this review sounds like I didn’t enjoy the play, but that’s not the case. Yes, I did have the above-mentioned issues, but virtually nothing was going to cloud the fact that I was reading about the wizarding world again, eleven years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I admit that an unstoppable wave of sentimentality was always going to be the deciding factor in my overall rating of Cursed Child, and that remains true. The play does, however, feature some merits that are all its own, including the wonderful Scorpius Malfoy, son of yes—Draco. Young Scorpius has already gained quite the fanbase, and you’ll quickly discover why.

I really liked how the play traversed the entire original series, an ambitious and—here I go drowning in sentiment again—wonderful nostalgia trip. I also loved how the play’s title was open to several interpretations of which character it referred to. Family is at the forefront of the plot, and it’s explored in great emotional depth that will often seize your heart in its grip.

While I don’t feel that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on quite the same level as the original books, I give J.K. Rowling credit for venturing outside of the novel format. I would absolutely see the play; it would be extremely interesting to compare the experience of just reading the script to watching it performed live by actors.

All in All: Fan reactions to this have been all over the place, and me, I fall somewhere in the middle-ish. I would have bought and read this even if it had received a million negative reviews. For me, Harry Potter will always be among the books that truly changed my life, and I’ll always follow it wherever it journeys. I love it unconditionally, and nothing can ever change that. At the same time, though, I agree with a few of the criticisms that have been made about Cursed Child. So many of us love Harry Potter and his friends so freaking much, it’s hard to say who’s going to adore the play merely because it’s a new HP story and who’s going to be upset by the frenzy of revelations and some of the character portrayals. Reading Cursed Child is most certainly an instance of Your Mileage May Vary.

Review: Night Study by Maria V. Snyder

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous book, Shadow Study.

Night Study (Soulfinders #2)
By Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Mira
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Yelena and Valek find themselves in danger once again, and this time, not even their combined formidable escape skills may save them. Yelena is still without her magic and the target of assassins. Valek, meanwhile, is no longer certain of his once unwavering loyalty to the Commander of Ixia, and the Commander is no longer sure that he can completely trust Valek. As Ixia and Sitia edge closer to conflict, Yelena, Valek, and their family and friends race to thwart it, but their numerous enemies always seem to be a step ahead of them.

Review: Night Study is the second book in Maria V. Snyder’s new series featuring Yelena, Valek, and all the gang from her original Study series plus characters from her spin-off Glass series. So this is technically the eighth book set in this world that I’ve read, and it’s always a bit of a homecoming to return to it.

Yelena and Valek are one of my favorite fictional couples; their slow burning romance way back in Poison Study was just perfect. I can’t begin to quantify how much sentimental value this series holds for me thanks to these two and their close-knit circle of family and friends. In all seriousness, I’d read books about Yelena and Valek in their old age; they’d probably eschew retirement and still be running about Ixia and Sitia trying to save everyone.

As much as I love these characters, though, there were a few things about Night Study that I couldn’t quite look the other way on. The first was the book’s pacing; it took me almost two weeks to read this. While there was no shortage of action scenes, which Snyder has always written well and continues to do so, the story itself just felt slow moving in places. Valek goes off on a solo mission that for the most part seems better suited for a standalone short story. Although an interesting twist awaits at the conclusion of his mission, the path to it is somewhat circuitous.

While I liked the addition of Valek and Janco’s POVs in the previous novel, Shadow Study, the multiple POVs, which also include Yelena’s brother, Leif, didn’t work quite as well for me this time around. You will never hear me complain about reading from Valek’s perspective. Ever. And that’s not to imply that I’m going to complain about Janco and Leif’s chapters. Maybe it’s because every POV except Yelena’s is written in the third person, but Janco and Leif’s narrative voices don’t always come across as distinct from one another.

So on to what was awesome about Night Study. I liked seeing Valek conflicted over his loyalties. He’s been the Commander’s right hand man for years, but Night Study sees their relationship grow increasingly strained. The Commander is wary of Yelena, with her ties to magic and to Sitia, where magic isn’t banned as it is in Ixia, which also drives a wedge between Valek and the Commander. Valek would do anything for Yelena, his heart mate, even defy the Commander. Watching Valek have to make a difficult choice made for a very compelling plotline.

We also get the usual witty observations from Janco, a narrow escape or two or three, and a development that’s sure to elate longtime fans of the series. I know I almost melted. While this wasn’t my favorite installment in the chronicles of Yelena, Valek, and co., I’m still very much invested in their next set of adventures.

All in All: I found the pace at which Night Study moved on the sluggish side at times and would be OK with fewer POVs, but the swoony Yelena and Valek moments and a big revelation definitely helped balance things out.

Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous book, A Darker Shade of Magic.

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2)
By V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: With Lila off realizing her dreams of adventure and maybe a little piracy on the high seas, Kell lives practically confined to Red London. Once revered by its citizens, he’s now regarded with suspicion and even fear following the terror unleashed by the Dane twins of White London that has forever magically entwined the lives of Kell and his brother, Prince Rhy. Hoping to lift his brother’s spirits, Rhy hatches an insane scheme for the upcoming and highly anticipated Element Games, an event that also draws the attention of a certain sassy thief/pirate with a crazy plan of her own for the games.

Review: With a single book, last year’s superb A Darker Shade of Magic, Victoria Schwab instantly became one of my favorite authors thanks to her superlative storytelling talents. The best fantasy novels carry you away to other worlds so immersive and real, you don’t want to return to your own. It was with much anticipation that I returned to Schwab’s alternate Londons, and once again, the trip was an absolute blast.

When we last left off, Kell and Lila had saved Red London from the evil, evil Dane twins of White London. While Lila has sailed away on board the Night Spire to chase her piratey dreams, Kell finds himself living under the constant watchful eye of the royal guards and the mistrustful eye of most Arnesians. Even Kell’s adoptive parents, King Maxim and Queen Emira, have distanced themselves from him. The relationship between Kell and his brother, Prince Rhy, is also tested, with both brothers feeling guilty over the events that led to Rhy being brought back to life with dark magic and their lives tethered to each other. Unlike their parents, however, Rhy continues to treat Kell like his blood brother, and of course Kell would still do anything for Rhy. It’s not all gloom and doom between them, either; their snarky exchanges made me chuckle quite often.

As for Miss Delilah Bard, she’s found a place for her sassy self among the crew of the Night Spire, captained by the enigmatic Alucard “I’m a Privateer Not a Pirate” Emery. Alucard is a fascinating new addition to the series and just as cagey as Lila when it comes to revealing anything personal, though both try to coax backstories out of each other. In A Gathering of Shadows, Lila proves that she truly is suited to a pirate’s life and backs up every bit of the Bard bravado. Oh, she still swaggers like hell and gets up to some seriously crazy hijinks, even for Lila, but I have to give her credit for living every second like it’s her last. Which it very well could be when you look back at some of Lila’s previous escapades.

Schwab’s world-building in A Darker Shade of Magic was absolutely brilliant, and she works her magic again here. I love how the Arnesian language is sprinkled throughout and the meanings of words and phrases always made clear by showing instead of telling. The Essen Tasch (Element Games) brings guests from other empires to Red London, giving us a more expanded view of this world. The matches between the competitors in the games are riveting, not just because of all of the action but also because you feel like you’re actually there in the arena. Plus, it’s elemental magic that the entrants wield here. In between reading A Darker Shade of Magic and this, I binge watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, and let’s just say that I have a newfound appreciation for elemental magic, which is put on spectacular display during the Element Games.

Although the majority of A Gathering of Shadows follows Kell and Lila and all of the pomp surrounding the games, we also check in from time to time on a developing story line that becomes extremely significant by the end of the book. I simultaneously love it for its ingenuity and cringe at it because of what ensues. “Cringe” is probably an understatement; “scream” would be more accurate.

And now it’s back to the torture known as Waiting for the Next Book. In the meantime, I’ll replay my favorite moments from this one in my mind: the ones that made me swoon, the ones that gave me the chills, and the ones that awed me because they were written so brilliantly (i.e. ALL OF THEM).

All in All: This has quickly become one of my favorite series, which means that I’m pushing it hard to anyone who hasn’t read it. A Gathering of Shadows is a mighty sequel that astounds in every aspect: the flawed characters you love because they’re not perfect, the fantastic world, the witty banter, and the beautiful prose. And now I must go cope with this severe book hangover.

ARC Review: Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Tell the Wind and Fire
By Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Clarion Books
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: April 5, 2016

To Sum It Up: New York is divided into two cities: the Light, which the wealthy and privileged call home, and the Dark, whose citizens live in stark contrast to their Light counterparts. Lucie Manette has known both halves of New York, having been born in the Dark but now a famous political symbol residing in the Light and connected to the Light’s powerful Stryker family. No one would dare associate them with Dark magic, but when a figure emerges from the Dark city with an obvious tie to the Strykers, Lucie finds herself caught between trying to protect the boy she loves and showing compassion for someone who, like her, comes from the Dark.

Review: Sarah Rees Brennan’s Gothic-tinged The Lynburn Legacy managed to both make me cackle like a madwoman with its sparkling wit and harpoon my heart with its more agonizing moments. Sometimes these emotions came over me within mere pages of each other. So when I found out that SRB had a new book coming out, of course I said, yes, please sign me up for more hilarity and heartache!

Tell the Wind and Fire is a retelling of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, which, alas, I have not read and know but a handful of details about. I didn’t feel that reading Dickens’s original was necessary in order to follow Tell the Wind and Fire, though; the latter read like a self-contained story.

Instead of Paris and New York, the two cities here are Light and Dark New York. Light magicians live very comfortably, and even luxuriously, in their part of the city while Dark magicians are kept downtrodden under the thumb of the ruling Light Council. Unrest is spiking among the buried, as the Dark city’s denizens are called, and the novel’s protagonist, Lucie Manette, is a key figure to both sides.

It’s the social divide between the two New Yorks that lies at the heart of Tell the Wind and Fire, with the magic woven subtly throughout the story. Readers expecting epic magical showdowns may be a tad let down because this isn’t that type of book. Although I didn’t mind too much that magic wasn’t the book’s primary focus, I still wished for a bit more world-building. This world of a split New York with two types of magic just didn’t feel entirely fleshed out and immersive.

I sometimes became frustrated with the main character, Lucie. She makes a really, really big mistake early on in the novel, one that keeps the consequences rolling throughout. While she owns up to what she’s done—repeatedly—she’s also occasionally critical of other characters’ actions when she herself has demonstrated a pretty serious lapse in judgment. Lucie’s narrative voice also fell kind of flat for me, with quite a lot of self-reflection that looped around in circles after a while. Sometimes you just can’t seem to form a connection with a protagonist, and that’s what happened here.

The character who really livens up this book is Carwyn, a doppelganger from the Dark city with an ultra secret connection to the family of Lucie’s boyfriend, Ethan. Doppelgangers are created from illegal Dark magic and believed to be soulless. Judging from the number of sarcastic comments Carwyn cracks, doppelgangers are also snarky! One of the things I loved most about The Lynburn Legacy was its riotous humor, and I’d hoped for similar laugh-out-loud moments in Tell the Wind and Fire. The tone here is more serious, though, and the wittiest lines of dialogue belong to Carwyn. What also makes him the novel’s most intriguing character to me is his unpredictability. He doesn’t always act like the evil twin everyone expects him to be (although there are plenty of occasions when he does). I’m endlessly fascinated by morally ambiguous characters, and it’s the fact that Carwyn isn’t without faults, unlike Lucie’s almost too perfect boyfriend Ethan, that I found compelling. Yes, I have a thing for the bad boys and the sorta bad boys, and Carwyn defies fitting neatly into one category, which in turn keeps you the reader wondering what he’ll do next.

It’s taken me a few days to write this review and hash out my overall feelings about this book. Lucie wasn’t an especially engaging narrator, but Carwyn kept me invested in the story, even though he’s off page at times, building suspense around what he’s up to. I also have to praise Sarah Rees Brennan’s prose, which is as pretty as ever. There are some very beautiful yet heartbreaking quotes that got an additional half star all on their own. Tell the Wind and Fire may not be the book you’re looking for if you seek a read heavily focused on magic, but you may want to hang around for the smart-alecky doppelganger.

All in All: Obviously, the doppelganger story line was the highlight for me. I wasn’t as crazy about Lucie’s character, but the caliber of the writing kept me reading. And this book has definitely made me curious about its inspiration, A Tale of Two Cities.

Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Mist

Chase Tinker and the House of Mist (Chase Tinker #4)
By Malia Ann Haberman
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Format: eBook
Source: Author

To Sum It Up: The evil Marlowes have taken almost everything from the Tinkers—including the magical Tinker house—and Chase is determined to get it back. With the help of his family and friends, Chase follows every possible lead on the house’s whereabouts, a search that takes him around the world and even back in time. Locating the house is only half the battle, however, as a final showdown between the Tinkers and the Marlowes awaits Chase and his allies once they do find the Tinker home.

Review: The Chase Tinker books have all been very enjoyable reads, and Chase Tinker and the House of Mist sees the series close with a strong finish. Our young hero faces his biggest challenges yet, including the theft of his family’s beloved home by the dastardly Marlowes. The Tinkers and the Marlowes have clashed before in the series, but this one, the battle for the house, promises to be the most explosive of all—and it doesn’t disappoint.

While the series has maintained a charming sense of whimsy through, it also hasn’t shied away from going a bit more serious in tone with each successive book. Chase Tinker and the House of Mist starts off on a very somber note, another reflection of the series’ maturity. What’s impressed me the most about these books is how they’ve moved forward in a way that respects Chase and his readers growing up, but not too fast.

Most of the novel focuses on the search for the house, with the majority of the action saved for the finale. Not to worry, though: there’s plenty to engage your interest until the house—and the Marlowes—is found. We learn about Persephone’s backstory, and Chase and Nori take a heart-pounding trip back to 18th century Scotland where Chase hopes to gain some insight from Augusta, one of his ancestors (this Outlander fan fully appreciated this bit of time travel to Scotland). There’s also a return of some magical acquaintances Chase and company have made during the course of their adventures. Although it’s the Marlowes’ insatiable greed for power that has brought faeries, vampires, warlocks, and leprechauns together with the Tinkers, the reunion is still nice to see.

The all-out confrontation between the two magical families is as intense as can be expected from these mortal enemies, and then some. Here again I commend the series for not walking away from a centuries-old feud with a light step. The conclusion to both the book and the series is well-balanced; there are some serious consequences of the Tinker/Marlowe hostilities, but in the end, readers who’ve watched Chase fulfill his destiny should be quite satisfied with this last chapter of his story.

All in All: This has been a little gem of a series, especially because of how awesome the house is. Standing out among books on magic can pose quite the challenge, particularly when geared toward younger readers, but this series is definitely worth checking out.

Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1)
By V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Kell is one of the Antari, one of the few who possesses magic that enables him to travel between alternate versions of London: Red London, Kell’s home; Grey London, where King George III sits on the throne; and White London, ruled by twins with an insatiable hunger for more power. Black London has long since been sealed off to travelers, destroyed from within, but when an extremely dangerous object from that forbidden place finds its way into Kell’s hands, he knows that he must return it to its origin, no matter the cost.

Review: It took me about a month to read A Darker Shade of Magic, and let me tell you, that had absolutely nothing to do with the book itself. Nope—it had entirely everything to do with lots of real life stuff imposing on my reading time. I had to read this in bits and bursts, when all I really wanted to do was devour it in one sitting. A Darker Shade of Magic is the kind of novel that demands—and deserves—your undivided attention to the point where you wish that you could just press a pause button for the rest of life so you could curl up with this book. Hey Kell . . . maybe a little help here with that?

Aside from Harry Potter, which I regard on its own plane of amazingness, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so thoroughly impressed by a book about magic. Every time our hero Kell cast a spell, I got a little chill because the magic felt so real. The world-building is absolutely stunning here and leaves you with no doubt that alternate Londons could exist in parallel. I found the four Londons utterly fascinating, even the versions that didn’t sound quite as appealing to visit. Each London is given a distinct vibe, and whenever Kell journeys between them, it’s as though you’re right there beside him and not simply reading about his travels.

Like the Red London that he calls his home, Kell is an endlessly intriguing protagonist. One of the first things we learn about him upon being introduced is that he dons a very unique, multiple sided coat. And like everything else about the world of A Darker Shade of Magic, of course you believe that such a coat exists. Kell is every bit as faceted as his coat is, too; it’s hard for me to individually list all of the reasons why I love him because I just love everything about him, including his flaws. It’s his little smuggling operation that rains a heap of trouble down on his head, but were it not for Kell’s rather large dilemma, we wouldn’t meet the wonderful Lila Bard.

Lila is a thief from Grey London who aspires to be a pirate. Yes—a pirate! How freaking cool is that?! It’s very fortunate for Lila that she’s so game for adventure because once she crosses paths with Kell, there’s a lot for someone who’s unaccustomed to magic to absorb. But Lila is keen to leave her London behind, even though Kell warns her of the potential dangers of the travel for a non-Antari, as well as what may await them in the other Londons. These two—despite their occasional squabbling (which is very amusing, by the way), they make an incredible—and formidable—team.

There’s some seriously intense action in this book, thanks in part to Holland, an Antari like Kell, but that’s about where their similarities end. Holland oozes lethality with every word and every move, which isn’t surprising when you get up close and personal with the folks he answers to. They would Astrid and Athos Dane, the twin rulers of White London, where the throne has traditionally been seized by force. Not only are the Danes more than okay with striking down anyone who gets in their way, but they revel in their cruelty. And they’re crazy. As much as I wanted to see Astrid and Athos’s horrible reign end, I have to say that they were compelling antagonists; you never knew what their next move was going to be, only that it involved copious amounts of evil. Guaranteed.

Finally, I must mention how exquisitely written A Darker Shade of Magic is; it’s as though the prose itself is enchanted. Nothing makes me happier than reading a book that makes me fall in love with its words as well as its characters, its setting, etc., and I adored EVERYTHING about A Darker Shade of Magic. I cannot wait to catch up with Kell and Lila in the next book!

All in All: Simply brilliant. This is truly one of the best, most immersive magic books I’ve read, and I don’t know what else to say to convince everyone to read it, too!

Review: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous books in The Lynburn Legacy series.

Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy #3)
By Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Despite Sorry-in-the-Vale appearing to be firmly in the grasp of Rob Lynburn, Kami isn’t ready to give up on saving her town—or Jared—just yet. A hidden piece of Lynburn family history may provide the hope Kami has been searching for, but she may not be the only one who has to pay a steep price to free the town from Rob. Without this sliver of a chance to defeat him, though, Sorry-in-the-Vale is certainly lost, and Kami can’t bear to watch that happen, either.

Review: I’ve finished reading The Lynburn Legacy series and survived to discuss it! As anyone else who’s also read the trilogy will probably agree, that’s no small feat. There’s been heartbreak galore throughout the series, and Unmade carries on that fine tradition. I hadn’t gotten very far into Unmade before I was already fearing for one of my favorite characters. All I could think was, for the love of God Sarah Rees Brennan, please don’t kill this character!

On top of worrying about the fates of certain characters, I was a tad anxious about what to expect from the book in general. Untold was a little lighter on plot advancement than I’d thought it would be, so I wasn’t sure if Unmade was going to be a rush to wrap up the series. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case; the action in Unmade was for the most part better paced than it was in Untold, although once in a while the quest to stop Rob Lynburn would take an extended backseat to a subplot.

From the beginning, this series’ greatest appeal to me has been how freaking hilarious it is amidst all of the evil sorcery enveloping Sorry-in-the-Vale. The series’ sense of humor is an exact match for mine, and that has contributed heavily to my enjoyment of all three books. Judge me as you will, but I’ve loved every minute of laughing out loud even as a town and its citizens stood on the brink of a takeover by a diabolical megalomaniac. If you’ve guffawed your way through the first two books like I have, you shan’t be let down by all of the witty dialogue in book three.

The other signature of this series has been its ability to seize the reader’s heart in its fist and pulverize it without mercy. I’m still looking for a few pieces of my heart, and not just because of some, er, stuff that happens that I don’t like to think about. My heart also forgot to beat a few times because it was too busy melting over the prose. There are some very prettily written lines (some of which may belong to Jared) that I needed to reread and reread again before I was ready to turn the page.

Despite having a few of the proverbial bad apples in their family tree, I’m really sad to bid adieu to the Lynburns: sweet Ash, brooding Jared (whom I loved because of said brooding), and even frosty Lillian. I actually grew quite fond of Lillian and was impressed by how protective she was of her two Lynburn boys. I’ll also miss Sorry-in-the-Vale, the quaint little English town with an epic tale to tell.

All in All: Unspoken is still my favorite installment because it’s simply spot-on in every way, but Unmade is a strong conclusion to the series.

Review: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

* This review contains spoilers for the previous book in the series, Unspoken.

Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)
By Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: With the magical link between them cut, Kami and Jared no longer know each other’s thoughts. However much Kami believed she might welcome being alone inside her head for the first time in her life is almost entirely dampened by Jared’s anger over her decision to sever the bond. Meanwhile, Rob Lynburn and his followers are ready to revert Sorry-in-the-Vale to its past, in which the Lynburns ruled over it absolutely with their magic. Kami is determined to stop him, even without Rob’s numbers and the combined magical might behind him.

Review: I survived another Lynburn Legacy book! Let me tell you, things were looking pretty dicey following that soul-crushing ending of Unspoken. Never have I simultaneously loved a book and wanted to fling it across the room in such equal proportion. So it was with immense, and I believe totally justified, trepidation that I finally cracked open my copy of Untold.

I’ll get straight to what I wasn’t so keen about in Untold so I can spend the rest of the review gushing about what I loved. Surprisingly, the ending didn’t leave me too wrecked. Oh, it was upsetting for sure, but I’d anticipated much, much, worse. The thing about Untold is, it feels a bit too much like a middle book. It gets off to an awesome start with some homicidal scarecrows (!), but then there’s no real action until towards the end. In between, the novel focuses on the terrible awkwardness , and that’s probably phrasing it lightly, between Kami and Jared now that they’re no longer connected to each other. Jared is very angry at Kami, which sometimes gets to be too much for her and then she gets angry at Jared, and so forth. While I still love both characters and realize that theirs is an extremely unique and complicated relationship because of their now broken bond, I would have been okay with a little less Kami/Jared post-link fallout.

With that out of the way, it’s time for the gushing. This book—the hilarity! I chuckled my way through Unspoken, and I chuckled my way through Untold (Jared Lynburn: tavern wench. HAHAHA!). The characters just have this knack for saying the quirkiest things at the most unexpected times, and I simply LOVE IT. It’s as though this series knows exactly what I find humorous, nay, hysterical. During one exchange between Kami’s father, Jon, and Jared’s aunt, Lillian Lynburn, I couldn’t stop laughing. Out loud. I hardly ever do that while reading, but here’s a series that has made laughing out loud a rule rather than the exception.

I’ve grown very fond of Kami’s little group, and I was happy to reunite with all of them. Her best friend, Angela, is an absolute riot, and she’s in top-notch, nap-loving form in Untold. I also love Angela’s brother, Rusty; he’s so mellow (i.e. the polar opposite of his sister), yet quite observant. We also get a deeper sense of how far from easy life is for the other Lynburn lad, Ash. His father Rob is an evil sorcerer, mother Lillian perceives him as weak, and even cousin Jared isn’t very nice to him. I found myself feeling sympathetic toward Ash, especially given how his ice-queen mother treats him.

Although Untold didn’t quite match the spark of Unspoken for me, nonetheless it was a highly entertaining read. The wit that utterly charmed me in the first book continues to be a delight in the sequel. And in a series that seems to revel in maddening heartbreak, you have to cherish every instance of humor you can get.

All in All: Unspoken is still my favorite in the series thus far, but Untold is not without its moments. I do, however, think that it could have benefitted from some more action through the middle, instead of saving it all for the last few chapters.

Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Destiny

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous book, Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets.

Chase Tinker and the House of Destiny (Chase Tinker #3)
By Malia Ann Haberman
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Format: eBook
Source: Author

To Sum It Up: Chase can’t stop thinking about the Tinkers’ latest clash with their hated enemy, the Marlowes, and he especially can’t forget the drastic action he had to take in order to protect his little brother, Andy. Chase can’t afford to continue allowing these memories to haunt him, though, because he needs to focus on the Marlowes’ next strike. Adding to Chase’s troubles are the surprise arrival of a possible Marlowe spy, and the disturbing news that the Marlowes are ruthlessly stealing magic anywhere they can.

Review: It’s been a long while since I read any middle grade fiction, so long in fact that I believe the last one was about a year ago. So I was totally ready for a change to my usual YA reading diet, and Chase Tinker and the House of Destiny, book #3 in the series, turned out to be the perfect read for jumping back into MG.

House of Destiny finds Chase’s mindset in a fairly dark place. He believes he killed his cousin, Janie, after she first attacked his younger brother, Andy. Even though Chase acted to defend his brother, the guilt over what happened with Janie torments him. That’s quite a weight for someone his age to handle, but it’s also spot-on character development for a protagonist who’s going to inherit the duties as Keeper of his family’s magical house one day. We also see the lighter side of Chase’s growing pains, as he struggles to hide his feelings for his friend, Persephone. Our young hero’s list of woes just seems to keep getting longer, with one of his chief worries being the increasing threat the Marlowes pose.

The Tinkers’ foes have now taken to robbing magic from any being who possesses it. To assess the severity of the situation, Chase and company do some traveling in order to observe the damage firsthand. In a nice expansion outside of the Tinker house, the group journeys into the domains of fairies, vampires, witches/wizards/warlocks, and . . . leprechauns! Although the Tinkers’ attempts to rally some allies aren’t all successful, it’s still a cool addition to the series to see them interact with other magical communities.

With the Marlowes at their most diabolical yet, the appearance of one of them, Alexander Marlowe, sends the Tinker house into an uproar. Alex claims he wants nothing to do with all of the evil and is seeking refuge with the Tinkers. This causes no small amount of dissension in the house, with Chase highly suspicious of Alex and vehemently opposed to his presence on Tinker turf. Chase’s cousin Nori, however, takes a liking to Alex and thinks everyone else should cut him a break. I admit to finding Alex quite charming, but that may just be the English accent working its charm (I have such a weakness for those!). Alex was tough to get a read on; I could understand Chase’s point, but Alex also seemed convincingly sincere. The Alex puzzle kept my brain busy throughout the book, and I’m still not certain what to make of him. I will be disappointed if he turns out to be a baddie, though, because I really want to believe he’s on Team Tinker.

I was bummed to reach the end of the book because—cliffhanger! I’m really anxious to know what happens next (like if Alex is evil or not) and can’t wait for the fourth installment. Here’s hoping that Chase and his family end the Marlowes’ campaign to steal every drop of magic in the world, and that the magical newcomers to the series make return appearances in the next book (oh, and let’s not forget to hope that Alex isn’t evil).

All in All: Books like the ones in this series remind me of why middle grade is awesome, no matter your age.

Review: Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Tender Morsels
By Margo Lanagan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

To Sum It Up:

Just when she can no longer face the horrors that she’s endured in her life, Liga Longfield escapes to a magical realm where no one can ever hurt her again. She raises her two daughters there, and over the years, the family leads a quiet life. Back in the real town of St. Olafred’s, though, the magic from the other world is seeping through more and more and causing trouble for the residents. The town must be returned to normal, but it means the loss of her haven for Liga, who finds herself back in the place that once caused her so much suffering.

Review:

Um . . . okay. Tender Morsels is the second Margo Lanagan novel that I’ve read, and just as I grappled for the words to describe what it was like to read The Brides of Rollrock Island, I don’t know where to begin here. I will warn you that despite its YA label, Tender Morsels is not for the faint of heart, even if you’re an adult who reads YA. This is NOT a light, easy read, not only because of the style of the prose, but also because of some of the subject matter; there’s incest, abortion, and rape in the first few chapters alone.

So what was I thinking picking up a book like this in the first place? Well, I slowly fell in love with Lanagan’s writing while reading The Brides of Rollrock Island. It was tough going with that book in the beginning because the prose was unlike anything I’d come across before—so lyrical that it almost seemed like poetry sometimes. The characters also spoke in their own local dialect, which further made Brides a challenge to read. It did take me a good while to get a feel for the rhythm of the writing, and I almost gave up on the book. In the end, though, I was thoroughly impressed with Lanagan’s masterful storytelling. I definitely wanted to check out more of her works, and that’s how I wound up reading Tender Morsels.

I didn’t read the novel’s synopsis before borrowing it from the library; I was just excited to see another Lanagan book on the shelves and added it to my stack. So you can imagine my horror at finding myself utterly outside of my reading comfort zone almost immediately. Since the death of her mother, Liga has been subjected to repeated rape by her father, who also forces potions brewed by the local “mudwife,” Annie Bywell, on his daughter to terminate any pregnancies. The abuse—sexual as well as physical and psychological—only ends when Liga’s father is found dead in the road after a night of drinking. She gives birth to a daughter, Branza, and tries to eke out a living for the two of them. No one in the small town of St. Olafred’s shows any interest in helping her. Although Liga does her best to keep to herself, one of the local boys spots her one day and leads a group of his friends to her home, where they gang rape her. Now at her breaking point, Liga is about to kill her infant daughter and herself when she’s given the chance to escape to a magical place where she, Branza, and, soon after, her younger daughter, Urdda, will be safe.

After this brutal beginning to the novel, Liga finally finds some peace in this other realm, her own piece of heaven. The villagers are polite to her, and the ones who didn’t treat her kindly back in the real St. Olafred’s are missing from her version of it. This haven represents everything that Liga didn’t have in the cruel, real world, but at the same time, it poses a subtle danger of its own. Liga means well by giving her daughters the protection she never had, but their sheltered lives are not without consequences. The day after day sameness of this life causes the daring and curious Urdda to yearn for the experience of life outside of her mother’s sanctuary, and when Urdda has the opportunity to pursue it, she takes it. Branza grows up to be more like Liga, reserved and cautious. When the time arrives for Branza and her mother to join Urdda in the real world, both women have a difficult time adapting to a place that they fear can only harm them.

Like she did with Brides, Lanagan employs multiple POVs, even switching back and forth between first and third person, to vividly illustrate the effects of magic on a small town community. While Liga has found refuge, the boundary between her magical world and the real one is becoming unstable, resulting in some bizarre incidents around St. Olafred’s (To make a long story short, some of the young men are turning into bears. There is nothing conventional about this book.). I can’t adequately capture in words how expert Lanagan is at entwining her characters’ individual stories and making every single one, no matter how small it may appear in comparison to larger ones, like Liga’s, feel essential. And as central as her arc is to the book, the novel is as much about the impact Liga’s time away from reality has had on the town as it is about her years spent in her heaven.

While Tender Morsels, even with its very dark themes, didn’t quite match the punch of The Brides of Rollrock Island’s revenge-propelled plot, it’s still a powerful, brilliantly written story. It is most definitely not, however, a book that is for everyone; I had a really hard time stomaching parts of this. Did Liga truly have to undergo every horror that she did in order to be driven over the edge? Probably not. I don’t think this is the best introduction to Lanagan’s work; if you are curious about her books, I believe The Brides of Rollrock Island would be a better place to start. The prose in that one also takes some adjusting to and it has its out there moments, too, but I didn’t find it nearly as disturbing as Tender Morsels.

All in All:

I had trouble with the rating because on the one hand, I loved the prose. On the other, this book sometimes made me queasy. I think Tender Morsels is the type of novel that has a niche audience: either you’re already familiar with Margo Lanagan’s work, or you’re a particularly undaunted reader.

Review & Giveaway: Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets

Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets (Chase Tinker #2)
By Malia Ann Haberman
Publisher: Crossroad Press

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

The evil Marlowes are more determined than ever to steal the source of the Tinker family’s magic, and now they’ve been joined by some unlikely allies. In addition to worrying about protecting his family, Chase Tinker is learning that his relatives can be quite secretive. There isn’t much time for him to be angry about being kept in the dark, though, because the Tinkers need to stick together if they’re to stand against their enemy and rescue one of their own.

Review:

Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets is a strong follow-up that certainly lives up to its name. We find out several surprising things about the Tinker family—and even a few about their old foes, the Marlowes—in this action-packed sequel that maintains the charm of the first book, Chase Tinker and the House of Magic, while also reflecting in tone the increasing maturity of its characters.

Continuing character development is something that I look for in any sequel regardless of a book’s target age group, but I’m especially keen to see it in middle grade titles. The ones that tend to click with me as an adult reader feature characters who make me feel as though I’m watching them make a progressive journey into young adulthood. Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets does not disappoint in this area. Chase still acts impulsively at times, but he’s also more aware of the responsibilities he’ll shoulder one day as the Keeper of the Tinker’s magical house. He grows up quite a bit over the course of the novel, and by the end of it, he’s been thoroughly tested. Extreme circumstances force Chase to take some drastic action that leaves him shaken and guilt-ridden. It’ll be interesting to see how he copes with what happened as the series continues.

Although this book delves into a little more serious territory than the last one, there’s still plenty of lighthearted stuff going on. Chase is more preoccupied than ever with not looking like a dork in front of Persephone, the housekeeper’s daughter. After very briefly becoming Keeper, Chase is able to use powers that once belonged to other Tinkers . . . every time he sneezes. This causes some distress for our young hero, of course, like being attacked by a garbage can in the school bathroom. There’s also an incident involving Nori, a newcomer to the series with a special connection to the Tinkers, and everyone in the room turning into goats. Moments like these made me laugh and reminded me why I still enjoy reading middle grade books.

The titular house figures prominently in the story once again, but its amazing magic never eclipses the characters, which I really appreciated. You always know that the characters are the heart of the story; it just so happens that they live in this fantastic house where probably anything is possible. Returning to the Tinker house was a total thrill, and I loved the direction in which the series turned.

All in All:

This was another awesome adventure for Mr. Tinker and his family and friends. The intensity went up by just the perfect amount, and the magic was irresistibly enchanting once more.

The Kindle edition of Chase Tinker and the House of Magic, the first book in the Chase Tinker series, is currently available from Amazon for only $0.99! Click here to buy a copy!

** Giveaway **

One (1) winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card and a bookmark signed by author Malia Ann Haberman!

• This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
• You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
• Winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond or else another winner will be chosen.
• Giveaway ends at 11:59 P.M. EDT on July 22, 2013.

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Review: Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous book, A Great and Terrible Beauty. *

Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2)
By Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Press

To Sum It Up:

Gemma Doyle is getting ready to go home to spend Christmas with her family. The holidays promise to be a busy time filled with many social engagements, but balls and dinner parties aren’t all that await Gemma. The Rakshana want her to bind the magic that she set free in the realms, but not without giving them the control of it they believe they are entitled to. Gemma knows that her enemy, the power-hungry Circe, is also still looking for her. With the fate of the realms’ magic resting in her hands, Gemma is a target and cannot afford to trust the wrong person. She has to put her faith in someone, though, because it is the only way she’ll find the Temple, the source of the magic and where Gemma must journey in order to contain it once again.

Review:

After being wowed by A Great and Terrible Beauty, I couldn’t wait to dive into Rebel Angels. Libba Bray’s writing in the first Gemma Doyle book was fantastic, and I devoured the follow-up as fast as I could. I was all too happy to return to Gemma’s world, or should I say worlds, because once more, we’re transported back to Victorian England as well as to the magical realms, where anything you can imagine is possible.

In A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma destroyed the runes that bound the realms’ magic. Now that it’s free, it can be used by anyone for any purpose. Gemma’s nemesis, Circe, is still on the loose, desperate for a way into the realms so she can seize their magic for her own evil plans. The secret brotherhood of the Rakshana is all for binding the magic—in its own name.

Meanwhile, Gemma is preparing to go home for Christmas. Even after all she, Felicity, and Ann have been through together, including the loss of Pippa, it’s business as usual between the young ladies. This means petty jealousy, occasional cattiness, and plenty of scheming. There’s a lot going on in this book just on the non-supernatural front. Felicity concocts a sob story for Ann; she’s now descended from Russian royalty and the long-lost relative of a duke. Ann continues to be besotted with Gemma’s older brother, Tom, who takes much more notice of Ann once he hears about her “lineage.” We also find out the horrifying secret Felicity’s been hiding about her family life. Yes, all that happens in this little group can approach soap opera-level dramatics at times, but that’s a big part of the appeal of this series for me. I enjoy reading the minute details of these girls’ lives, even when they’re acting less than sensible. You don’t know how many times I wanted to tell Ann to shut up because she was burying herself alive with her big mouth. I was embarrassed on her behalf!

I do wish that the girls had shown a bit of character growth from the previous novel. Ann is still timid, Gemma still wavers between being snippy and letting her conscience get the better of her, and Felicity is still, well, Felicity. I was a little torn between this feeling of comfort that went with being back among familiar characters and this tiny, nagging sensation that they seemed all too familiar, like they hadn’t learned much from their prior experiences. This is particularly true for what went down in the realms in the last book.

The romance gets turned up in Rebel Angels, with Kartik from A Great and Terrible Beauty continuing to be a presence in Gemma’s life and the introduction of Simon Middleton, the son of a viscount. Gemma can’t help but be attracted to Simon; he’s handsome, wealthy, and has all the right social connections. Yet Gemma can’t quit thinking about Kartik, especially since he seems to be showing an interest in her, as well. I was surprised to see the novel head into love triangle territory after the romance was rather low-key in the first book. Fortunately, it doesn’t overtake the story, and no one mopes over heart-related matters.

Where Bray knocks this out of the ballpark is with the descriptions of the realms. The imagery! Although Gemma and company spent time there in the preceding book, the realms are explored at much greater length here. The unbound magic is changing them, blighting their beauty. The girls also meet some of the inhabitants: centaurs, water nymphs, and a gorgon who’s a living part of a boat. Most aren’t friendly, and the Poppy Warriors, these sort of demonic knights who feed on fear, scared the hell out of me. Why do I always wind up reading the most frightening parts of books late at night? Every time Azreal, their apparent leader, creepily addressed one of the girls as “poppet,” it was as chilling as Naughty John’s whistling in Bray’s The Diviners. I’ve gushed before about how brilliantly Bray makes the paranormal feel so real, and what she does here with the realms is exceptional.

Rebel Angels is longer than A Great and Terrible Beauty, but I didn’t find the additional pages to be an issue. I actually stayed up late one night to finish the 200 or so pages I had left because I needed to know what happened. While the book doesn’t end on one of those scream-inducing cliffhangers, I still have several questions that I’m eager to see answered. Looking at the size of the final book in the trilogy, The Sweet Far Thing, I’m hoping that I’ll find everything explained satisfactorily.

All in All:

The realms truly made this book for me. I enjoyed reading about Gemma’s London life, too, but I was completely mesmerized by the magic here, even when it gave me a severe case of the creeps.

Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1)
By Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Press

To Sum It Up:

Gemma Doyle longs to leave Bombay, India for England. She gets her wish, but it is under the most tragic of circumstances. Following her mother’s mysterious death, Gemma is packed off to Spence Academy, a London finishing school for young ladies. At Spence, Gemma must contend with being the newcomer as well as make sense of the visions that began when she foresaw what would happen to her mother. Gemma is not the only person who knows about her ability, though, and she is warned to put an end to the visions. It is not an easy task, and when Gemma learns that there were once others with a similar power who could enter a magical world called the realms, embracing her gift seems all the more enticing.

Review:

I think I’ve figured out what would have made Victorian novels like Jane Eyre a lot more appealing to me back when I was a teenager. If only Jane had gotten herself involved with a clique of mean girls at Lowood and possessed a paranormal ability that allowed her to transport her and her “friends” to a place where they could have anything they desired, I would have been totally hooked. This is only the second Libba Bray book that I’ve read (the other being The Diviners), but once again, I’ve been blown away by her talent for seamlessly blending historical fiction with the supernatural. From reading her novels, you’d think that the two naturally went hand in hand.

Set first in Bombay and then in London during the reign of Queen Victoria, A Great and Terrible Beauty centers around sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle. My initial impression of her was that she was a brat with a me-centric attitude. Everything changes, though, when Gemma is seized by a terrifying vision of her mother dying that then comes true. Gemma is sent to Spence, an all-girls school in London. At this point my opinion of her began to change—for the better. Gemma proves to be a wry observer; her snarky commentary on everything and everyone really won me over. Upon her arrival at Spence, she immediately assesses the social hierarchy. She winds up with mousy Ann Bradshaw for a roommate, while snooty Felicity Worthington clearly has the run of the school. A game of one-upmanship that’s meant to show Gemma who rules Spence ensues between Gemma and Felicity and her entourage, which includes Felicity’s second-in-command, Pippa Cross.

I couldn’t help but find myself engrossed in the drama here. I hadn’t expected this mean girls aspect to the novel, but writing about situations that could easily be transplanted to modern times while completely maintaining the authenticity of the period the story is set in seems to be a specialty of Bray’s. It’s one that she excels at, too. I also liked how Bray didn’t have the girls go skipping off together as besties once they sort of reached a truce, brought about by that good old equalizer, blackmail. The pettiness and the competition to be Felicity’s favorite continue, though with some toning down. The friendship between Gemma, Ann, Felicity, and Pippa stands on tenuous ground, and this is made even more so by Gemma’s supernatural gift.

Gemma’s visions persist while at Spence, and they eventually lead her to the discovery of the Order, a secret society of sorceresses who could once access the realms, a world of powerful magic. Despite warnings from Kartik, a young man who’s followed Gemma from Bombay and who is a member of the Rakshana, another secret organization with its own agenda, Gemma finds her way into the realms. She brings the other girls, too, and they are all stunned to learn that whatever they dream is possible in this place. Ann sees herself with the beauty that she so desperately desires; Pippa literally has a knight in shining armor. On the surface, experiencing the magic of the realms brings the girls closer, but you have to ask: would they still be friends without this? Every time I thought that the hatchet had been buried, it would rear its head. I’m definitely not complaining about the seesaw-like quality to the friendship, though; it made for some absorbing reading.

The wish fulfillment of the realms ends up being a double-edged sword because it magnifies how constrained the girls’ lives are back in their own world. In the realms, they have the freedom that does not exist in reality. My heart really went out to Pippa, whose parents are forcing her to marry some old geezer whose sole attraction is his wealth. The importance of keeping up appearances is a recurring theme throughout the book, from Pippa having to marry for social status over love to the Doyle family covering up how Gemma’s mother really died. Seeing how much the girls yearn to have the power that’s at their disposal in the realms outside of them is quite heartbreaking.

If I were to go on about how thought-provoking and multi-faceted A Great and Terrible Beauty is, this review would be as long as the novel. Bray’s prose is outstanding, and I loved how she made Gemma realistically flawed. The finesse with which Bray writes paranormal, as though it assuredly exists, is why both this and The Diviners left me grasping for the right words to describe how incredible they are.

All in All:

Paranormal historical fiction doesn’t get much better than this. I loved the setting and how true Gemma’s narrative voice felt to her time. I don’t know how I managed not to read this book much sooner; it was absolutely my kind of read.

Review: You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

You Are Mine (Mine #1)
By Janeal Falor

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

Serena has reached her seventeenth birthday, an event that she’s been dreading. It means that she’s old enough to have her blood tested to see how much magic it contains. The more magic within it, the higher the price her father will be able to demand for her hand in marriage. For Serena, marriage doesn’t mean escape from her father’s house and his cruel punishments; instead, she’ll just become the property of her new husband. A surprise turn of events leads to Serena being contracted to marry a warlock who’s an outsider to her country, and therefore, the subject of much suspicion. The last thing Serena expects from him is kindness, but Zade is not at all like the other warlocks she’s known. For once, Serena dares to hope that she might find some freedom in her life.

Review:

You Are Mine takes place in a world where only males are able to use magic. Females carry magic in their blood, but they cannot wield it, only pass it on to the male children they’re expected to provide for their husbands. Women have no rights, and those who are not submissive face severe punishment, including being tarnished—shunned by the rest of society.

The novel opens with this terribly bleak outlook for its female characters, including the protagonist, Serena. As the story unfolds, though, there’s a nicely built and gradual shift in the situation. From the outset, you get the impression that Serena has a rebellious side that’s clamoring to run free. She occasionally slips and says exactly what she’s thinking, but she can only do so much while still living under her father’s roof. He’s only too happy to punish not only Serena but any of his daughters who misbehaves. To spare her younger sisters from his cruelty, Serena takes the blame for any wrongdoing as often as she can. Once she’s out of his house, however, Serena slowly starts taking control of her life. She stops wearing the face paint that women are supposed to use and has clothes made to suit her tastes for once. These may seem like small things, but merely having a choice in these matters is a huge gain.

I thought the strongest story line belonged to Katherine, a tarnished dressmaker who befriends Serena. Despite her social status, Katherine leads a life that is on her own terms. Her friendship with Serena is mutually beneficial, with both women inspiring strength in each other.

Where the novel didn’t work for me was in how delineated the characters were: the good ones were really good, and the bad ones were really bad. I tend to be drawn to morally ambiguous characters, particularly when I read fantasy. Here there’s hardly any middle ground. Serena’s father, Stephen, was just loathsome, and I felt like her fiancé, Zade, was depicted in an extra heroic light to make up for how horrible Stephen was. I didn’t have a problem with Zade being a good guy. He was so wholly noble, though, that he came off as too perfect to me, even as Serena feared that he was putting on an act. I was never convinced that Zade was going to turn out to be like Serena’s father; in fact, I got a bit annoyed with her for continuing to doubt Zade’s kindness. I understood where her wariness came from, but it was already apparent to me that he wasn’t going to hurt her, and I wanted her to realize it, too.

The magical element of You Are Mine is weaved well into the story, but I would have liked to have seen it utilized even more. It sometimes takes a secondary role to whatever is going on in Serena’s everyday life, like going dress shopping. I like fantasy that’s a little more action-oriented and has characters with an edge to them, and this didn’t quite line up with what I look for in the genre.

All in All:

This was a little too light on the fantasy elements for me, but I would suggest trying it to anyone who’s been looking for a starting point into the genre. The plot is straightforward and the world easy to jump into.

Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Magic by Malia Ann Haberman

Chase Tinker and the House of Magic (Chase Tinker #1)
By Malia Ann Haberman
Publisher: Crossroad Press

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

Since his father’s mysterious disappearance, Chase Tinker has been getting into a lot of trouble. Chase is also dealing with the fact that he can manipulate objects with his mind, and now his younger brother, Andy, is able to freeze time. The boys are in for the surprise of their lives when the grandfather they didn’t know they had appears on their doorstep and announces that they are part of a magical family. The Tinkers also have an old foe that has been trying to steal the source of their magic and is very likely responsible for whatever happened to Chase and Andy’s dad. Together with their newfound family members, the brothers are ready to face their enemy and find their father.

Review:

When it comes to reading, I think a part of me will always be a kid at heart. That’s why I still enjoy reading middle grade books from time to time; they take me back to some of my happiest childhood memories. Chase Tinker and the House of Magic contains all of the elements that made me fall in love with reading all those years ago: a relatable hero, a thrilling story, and lots of magic!

The standout aspect of this novel is the writing. The characters, the setting, and the pacing are all very well done. I especially loved the descriptions of the Tinker family’s magical house; they burst with such vibrant imagination. What I wouldn’t give to explore a place like this and try out the different magical powers that each room holds! Want to time travel? Not a problem—there’s a room for that. Need to teleport? There’s a room for that, too. If the book had only been about exploring every nook and cranny of the house room by room, that would have been enough to keep me reading.

I thought Chase made a great main character—brave and daring, yet sometimes too rash with his decisions. I loved how he and Andy looked out for each other, and their good-natured sibling squabbling lent a sense of realism to their relationship. I also liked how they formed a tight-knit quartet with their cousin, Janie, and Persephone, the housekeeper’s daughter. Chase’s crush on Persephone and how embarrassed he became around her were just too cute.

The twist toward the end of the novel quite surprised me and should lead to some intriguing plot developments in the next book. It’s been a while since I’ve read a magic-themed book for younger readers, and they, too, should find this both engaging and enchanting. There’s plenty of action and mystery, and let’s not forget the magical house that is just built out of plain awesomeness.

All in All:

This is a fun read for younger readers and not-quite-so-young readers alike, and it’s yet another middle grade novel that I wish had been around when I was growing up.