Kelly's InkSpill

Books and Women. that is all.

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Currently Reading 📚☕

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Title: When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Prompt: Astronomy: Read a book entirely at night time.

Page Count: 273 Pages; DNF at 198 📚

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Synopsis: To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

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"They're expected to forget everything they knew about being anything other than what they're supposed to be."

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I loved Anna-Marie McLemore's novel Wild Beauty. I was surprised at how much I like it, since 1) magical realism just isn't really my thing, and 2) I don't get on with overwritten and flowery sentences. But, despite that, I loved it. I went in with low expectations, so maybe that effected my enjoyment of the novel because my expectations for When The Moon Was Ours where incredibly high. When BooksandLala not only put this book in God Tier, but as a Libra read as well, I knew I had to read it for the OWLs.

But I just...couldn't...do it to myself.

I save 1 stars for books I despise, so this isn't quite on that level, but I think it's fair to say, that me and this book are not friends. It did some things right though; I loved it was a lose retelling of the Wheeping Woman ghost story, I loved the LGBTQ+ rep with it mosty focusing on trans issues, and I liked the Bonner sisters as 'villains' of the story. But that's where my enjoyment of this book ended.

I was just so drawn out.

Whole paragraphs dedicated to the colours of the moons that one of our main characters, Sam, hides around town. Just over and over and over again. Miel would grow flower after flower from her wrist, described in excruciating detail. The Bonner sisters hair was described with so many synonyms for red that I actually wanted to bang my head against the wall. Glass pumpkins sprouted for no reason across fields, long chapters assigned to dispelling the love from someone...

I lost the actual plot of the novel in the description.

Was there even a plot?

This book also uses one of my most hated tropes on novels, and that's when one character makes a decision for another character without talking to them about it. It really irritates me, and it would solve everything. There would still be a story, the author just has to come up with a different way of telling it instead of having me believe that two characters who love each other very much, would be this uncommunicative about something as important as this?

In all the magical realism that floats around this book, of the wrist-roses and the dispelling of love and the glass pumpkins and the forever slightly damp skirts, that was the most unbelievable element to the whole story.

I couldn't suffer through anymore and I had to officially DNF it. I wanted to like this book so much, but we didn't get on. I think they're a wonderful writer and I'm not opposed to more of their novels. One got 4.5 stars, one got 1.5 Stars...the third time will let me know for sure where I stand, and I am eager to find out.

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Title: Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart (Grace and Fury, #1)

Prompt: Divination: let the fates decide, use a random.number generator to choose your next pick.

Page Count: 320 Pages 📚

Rating: 2(ish) Stars ⭐

Synopsis: In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace - someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

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"It isn't a choice when you don't have the freedom to say no. A yes doesn't mean the same thing when it's the only answer you're allowed."

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Man, was this a disappointment. It was in my most anticipated shelf and everything. I love sibling bonds being prominent within a fantasy element, so I thought this would be a shoo-in for at least a 4 star? I was expecting action, cunning, bravery, wit, ambition...and what I got was just kinda there?

I loved the idea, two sisters being complete opposites are split up and are in two very different places. The prim and proper sister who was trained for the royal courts is in the fighting ring, and the fiesty and rash sister finds herself hanging out with the princes. I thought that they'd take what they know about each other and learn to apply it (much like Klaus and Violet do in A Series of Unfortunate Events), but that didn't happen.

The problem with duel perspective is that there is almost always one POV that I prefer to the other, and for me it was Serena's chapters that took that title. 1.5 of those stars is for her alone! I thought she was the most boring of the sisters, but I think she experienced the most growth and that was at least a little exciting to see, and I liked her side characters a lot more as well (but gag me with that romance, not here for it).

Nomi, on the other hand, didn't really do a lot of anything except for doing what the crowned princes told her to do, despite not trusting them at the beginning of this novel. She does a complete 180 with absolutely no reason? Just starts trusting them. Just like that. I felt like she had no real depth to her as a character. You can tell me that she's loud and outspoken all you like, but unless you show me, then I don't believe you. And Nomi showed us nothing except that she's very easily swayed. The only thing I liked about Nomi's chapter was one of the other Grace's, I thought she was lovely.

And I saw the plot twist coming from a mile away.

This was a wonderful idea and it had a good set up. It was a fast read and I flew through it, but I just don't think it was executed very well. It felt a bit rushed and not edited very well. With a little time and a lot of fine tuning, this could have had more appeal. For me, it just fell a little too short in too many things.

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Title: How To Break A Dragon's Heart by Cressida Cowell (How To Train Your Dragkn, #8)

Prompt: Dragon Seminar: Read a book featuring Dragons.

Page Count: 320 Pages 📚

Rating: 4.5 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: THE STORY CONTINUES in the eighth volume of Hiccup's How to Train Your Dragon memoirs...Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was an awesome sword-fighter, a dragon-whisperer and the greatest Viking Hero who ever lived. But it wasn't always like that. Hiccup's memoirs look back to when Hiccup was just an ordinary boy, and finding it very hard to be a Hero. Hiccup must battle Berserks, dodge Scarers, complete the Impossible Task and save Fishlegs from being fed to the Beast! And all while being hunted down by an old enemy with a dark secret about the Lost Throne. What's a Hero to do?

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"History is a ghost story. My own childhood has passed into history, and the ghosts I find there are the ghosts of Heroes and dragons and Beserks and witches, and it has become fashionable not to believe in those things anymore. But I believe, for I was there."

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This book changed the game and the fate of Hiccup as a character. It is instrumental in altering the course of the series into a way in which the stakes are much higher and that there's no room for error for our main characters, or the results could end up catastrophic.

In other words, shits just about hit the fan.

I love reading about Hiccup and Toothless and Fishlegs and their adventures because they're honestly just so much fun. They're fast reads that I can get through quickly that also have some weight to them. But this book was by far the best in the series. It pieced facts together from previous books and it really gives background characters more of a chance to shine. It also answers the age old question of just why exactly can Hiccup talk to dragons? And the answer is so satisfying and steeped in myths and history and well-thought out and crafted.

It's a wonderfully paced book with a great reveal and outcome that I find myself thinking about some times since I finished it back in April. I'm incredibly eager to get to the next one and to figure out exactly just how everything is going to turn out. I was on the edge of my seat for the last 80 or so pages, and honestly that's rare for a Middle-Grade read.

My only downfall to this series is that I find it can get a wee bit repetitive, which as a reader in her mid twenties, can get a bit annoying. I just have to remind myself that I'm not the target demographic for these stories.

This book series is quite special and will forever have a well-deserved place on my bookshelves.

Also, those illustrations. I adore Toothless, he's such a brat 😅

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Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home 🏰❤

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Title: The King of Crows by Libba Bray (The Diviners, #4)

Prompt: 1) Care of Magical Creatures: Read a book with a beak on the cover. 2) Read a book from an author that you love

Page Count: 510 pages 📚

Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: After the horrifying explosion that claimed one of their own, the Diviners find themselves wanted by the US government, and on the brink of war with the King of Crows.

While Memphis and Isaiah run for their lives from the mysterious Shadow Men, Isaiah receives a startling vision of a girl, Sarah Beth Olson, who could shift the balance in their struggle for peace. Sarah Beth says she knows how to stop the King of Crows-but, she will need the Diviners' help to do it.

Elsewhere, Jericho has returned after his escape from Jake Marlowe's estate, where he has learned the shocking truth behind the King of Crow's plans. Now, the Diviners must travel to Bountiful, Nebraska, in hopes of joining forces with Sarah Beth and to stop the King of Crows and his army of the dead forever.

But as rumors of towns becoming ghost towns and the dead developing unprecedented powers begin to surface, all hope seems to be lost.

In this sweeping finale, The Diviners will be forced to confront their greatest fears and learn to rely on one another if they hope to save the nation, and world from catastrophe...

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"Make a better history."

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Okay. I'm not sure where to start with this review to be honest.

I loved The Diviner's so much. I think it was an incredibly clever way to tell a ghost story and I thought it was very witty and engaging. Over time, I feel like there's a bit of a disconnect between this series. This fourth one, in tone, doesn't really match the rest of the series?

It's weird, because the world, characters and powers have expanded so much...but this book felt very narrow and isolated. They spent a lot of time just travelling and not really going anywhere? I loved that the characters were paired in ways that they haven't been before, and that new relationships and connections between the characters were allowed to be explored, but it all felt very slow and a bit mechanical?

Ultimately, what makes this book excellent, is the social commentary. America is haunted by the ghosts of it's dead, the forgotten, the abandoned, the killed and slaughtered. It's haunted by its indiscretions, its misdeeds, its place on the wrong side of history. The prejudice and bigotry that plagues the minorities, the ones not deemed allowed to ve. One of my personal favourite quotes from this series was this one:

"It was always somebody's turn. The Irish, the Italians, the Jews, the Negroes, or Chinese or Mexicans. A great wheel of bigotry, ever turning. Who got to decide what made somebody an american? America, the ideal of it at least, was its own form of elusive magic."

Powerful. And incredibly truthful.

Ultimately, I think this book tried too hard to capture the magic of this series that was a little lost, so it overcompensated with so many filler chapters that it was too long-winded, and the final showdown was barely a couple chapters long. It all wrapped up a little too quickly and it used one of my least favourite tropes (SPOILER ALERT), someone who's passed on coming back to life, but I love who the ultimate saviour is and I appreciate the open ending with the way this book wraps up quite alarming (the last line was particularly chilling).

I love this series, and while this book didn't live up to my expectations, it answered all of my questions and I have some sense of closure for these characters. The unnecessary love-triangle was axed and there's a great exploration of race and sexuality between the pages of this series. A series I would highly recommend, but this, for me, is one of those rare series where I think the first one is the best one.

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Title: Malamander by Thomas Taylor (Malamander, #1)

Prompt: Herbology: Read a book that starts with the letter M.

Pages: 310 pages 📚

Rating: 4 stars ⭐

Synopsis: Nobody visits Eerie-on-Sea in the winter. Especially not when darkness falls and the wind howls around Maw Rocks and the wreck of the battleship Leviathan, where even now some swear they have seen the unctuous malamander creep…

Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, knows that returning lost things to their rightful owners is not easy – especially when the lost thing is not a thing at all, but a girl. No one knows what happened to Violet Parma’s parents twelve years ago, and when she engages Herbie to help her find them, the pair discover that their disappearance might have something to do with the legendary sea-monster, the Malamander. Eerie-on-Sea has always been a mysteriously chilling place, where strange stories seem to wash up. And it just got stranger...

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"If the impossible is possible anywhere, it'll be possible in Eerie-on-Sea."

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So I read two seaside based books back to back with very different tones, and very different plots. I preferred this one for plot and characters, I preferred The Wicked Deep for tone and atmosphere. Overall, Malamander is the one I would re-read, so it wins this little impromptu head-to-head between the two 🤷‍♀️.

I live part time in a seaside town and this book captures it pretty well. There's just a weirdness to seaside towns that's never really explained, and every one there just accepts it as it is. I'm not a local; my girlfriend lives right by the sea. I never thought I liked it much but honestly, during this pandemic I haven't been there for weeks and I've actually missed it a little. This book just reminds me of home, in a way.

Of course, there isn't a legendary sea creature crawling around under the piers, but to be quite honest I wouldnt be surprised if there was.

Like I said, they're slightly weird.

This book was a middle grade and I read it in practically a single sitting. I loved the characters and I thought Herbert Lemon was a wonderfully logic character, bouncing off of Violet's action packed mindset quite nicely. They compliment each other really well, and I liked the little sub-plots to this story. While I think the villain was incredibly obvious, the little mysterious and connections between all of these characters was done very nicely.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel. I wonder which book the Mer-Monkey would have me read and if there's a way to find out.

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Title: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Prompt: History of Magic: Read a book featuring witches and/or wizards.

Page Count: 308 pages 📚

Rating: 3 stars ⭐

Synopsis: Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

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"There're always reasons to stay...you just need to find one reason to leave."

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This was a little disappointing. I've had this book on my TBR since it was released, and I was so hyped to finally get to it, and I'm absolutely gutted that I didn't love this one.

On paper, it has elements that I adore. A cursed little seaside town, witches hell bent on revenge, mysterious disappearances and drownings, suspicion and intrigue, and you really can't trust anyone...and you know, on some of these points I think they really delivered, on other aspects...not so much.

The writing was the saving grace of this story for me. It was so incredibly atmospheric and so beautifully written. While I had some issues with the characters and their lack of depth *cough* Bo *cough*, the writing kept me hooked. I believed in this little town, so much so I was a little surprised to realise it was fictional. Of course there's a little town that's cursed by witches, three sisters who return every summer to enact their revenge by drowning the local boys. It reminded me a little of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, in which I just believed I was reading about a real life Hollywood actress. It was powerful writing, and certainly the reason I'll be picking up Shea Ernshaw's newest book.

My biggest gripe with this book was the characters and their lack of growth and development. Again, I had an issue with the romance - I'm just not a fan of insta-love guys, it doesn't work for me; I don't like being told that people are in love, I want to be shown it. I believed every aspect of this book, but I wasn't on board with the romance for a second. And this book was more romance heavy than I anticipated.

I loved the writing and the atmosphere, I liked the little plot twist thrown in there and I like the split narrative from the sisters in the past, and our main character, Penny, in present day.

So I didn't hate this book. But I can't say that I wasn't disappointed. Such a rich and beautiful background with just flat and 2-D characters that just stopped me from being fully invested the way that I wanted to be.

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Title: The Love Hypothesis by Laura Steven

Prompt: Muggle Studies; read a book from a muggle's POV (A contemporary)

Page Count: 295 Pages 📚

Rating: 4 stars ⭐

Synopsis: Physics genius Caro Kerber-Murphy knows she’s smart. With straight As and a college scholarship already in the bag, she’s meeting her two dads’ colossal expectations and then some. But there’s one test she’s never quite been able to ace: love. And when, in a particularly desperate moment, Caro discovers a (definitely questionable) scientific breakthrough that promises to make you irresistible to everyone around you, she wonders if this could be the key. What happens next will change everything Caro thought she knew chemistry – in the lab and in love.

Is her long-time crush Haruki with her of his own free will? Are her feelings for her best girl friend some sort of side-effect? Will her dog, Sirius, ever stop humping her leg?

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"We did this. We pushed her away. But when the only way to bring her back is to round off our edges, to turn down our volume...is that really friendship at all?"

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So, this was a surprisingly poignant read.

I've read Laura Steven's other works, so I knew there'd be a moral component and a social commentary to reflect on, but it wasn't the message I was expecting.

Considering this is marketed as a queer f/f story, I actually think it was entirely unnecessary to the plot.

Now, let me explain here. I love a good queer novel, particularly one that explores bisexuality and a w/w narrative. But I felt that this book tacked it on at the end real fast with incredibly little build up. Our main character, Caro, doesn't think of women at all for the first 250 pages of this book, and then suddenly she's madly in love with a girl? I know the stereotype is that queer girls move fast, but bloody hell, not that fast! 😂

Other than that, I loved this novel. This book was about growing as a person, about how friend dynamics changed and shifted and grew and, yes, sometimes they fall apart. I thought this book was well written, well thought out, and well executed. I live for how Cairo grows in confidence and becomes more herself, but she never actually changed. She still loves Physics, she still loves rom-coms, but she grows to also love herself, and I think there's an incredibly powerful message in that. I just wish the queer romance sub-plot had been either left out entirely, our thread more throughout the rest of this story.

It has great characters with great diversity and was genuinely funny and heart warming. I've enjoyed every Laura Steven book I've read, and I'm pretty sure that I'll enjoy the rest that gets released. I honestly enjoyed myself, and with our current social situation, this book gave me exactly what I needed.

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Title: Circe by Madeline Miller

Prompt: Transfiguration: Read a book featuring shape-shifting.

Page Count: 333 Pages 📚

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

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"But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me."

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So, this was disappointing.

On paper it has everything I love; stunning writing, a greek myth, feminist characters and cunning and trickery from gods and goddesses and wonderful settings and adventure.

In practice, this just didn't hit right.

To be fair, I don't know a lot about Circe the goddess, so I didn't have a lot of the original material going in, and maybe that hindered me. All I knew about Circe is that she pops up in Percy Jackson and she runs a spa? And, apparently, she hasn't always been doing that, so I had nothing. After reading this novel, I did some research into Circe, and while I'm no expert, I'm still so confussed about something. Maybe a mini spoiler, but was Circe actually there for the birth of the Minatour? I can't tell if this author has tried to shoe-horn her into that story because of the connection with her sister being the Minataur's mother and all, or if there was a brief mention of her somewhere, so Miller decided that she deserved her voice in that story and that she wasn't going to be omitted this time round? Either way, while I completely understood exactly what the author was trying to accomplish, for me it just didn't quite work. She felt forced into that story. I completely agree that women need to be at the forefront of their own stories and allowing Circe (a smaller goddess) her own story was a good idea, I just thought it was all a little boring and forced.

It felt like I was reading a series of vignettes about Circe with no linear story, and the times we do get more of a plot, as well-written as it was, it just lacked that spark and I found it to be pretty dull. To be fair, I thought the story up to her banishment was interesting, and I was absolutely ready to buckle in for the long haul, but it just became static to me. It lost it. I found that I didn't connect to anyone in this novel, and honestly I just didn't care. It felt like I was being told her story instead of being allowed to live it with her.

I know that I'm in the minority here, but I honestly just didn't get on with this novel. I found Circe at times to be witty and very clever, and other times to be placid and bland. I don't need to like a character to root for them, and I understand the complexities of human nature, but they need to be at least engaging. And Circe just wasn't. And some characters around her where even worse (don't get me started on Telegonus. As soon as he entered the scene I had to force myself to finish this novel).

I absolutely loved Madeline Miller's other book, The Song of Achilles, and I gave it 5 stars. I loved her writing and the idea behind this was sound. You know whose story I'd love to see this author tackle? Which misunderstood female who should get the opportunity to be at the forefront of her own story, to rewrite her history? Medusa. What a glorious tale that would be!

She clearly knows her Greek history and I can tell with every line that she loves this stuff, and they'll always be some magic in her work for that alone. I'm honestly looking forward to her next novel.

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Title: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Prompt: Arithmancy: Exploring the magical properties of the number "2". Balance/opposites, read a book outside of your favourite genre

Page Count: 243 📚

Rating: 3.75 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom.

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"Life doesn't care about what you want, other people don't care about what you want. All that matters is what you do."

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I never read horror books. I usually find them disappointing, to be quite honest, I'm never quite as creeped out as I'd like to be or I'm just genuinely not scared; I was downright bored reading The Exorcist.

I loved Grady Hendrix's other work 'My Best-Friends exorcism'. It didn't scare me so much as unsettle me, but I loved the story beneath the horror, so I thought if I'm gonna read a horror, I'll pick up a Grady Hendrix novel.

It was either this or a New Adult romance, and I thought I'd fare much better with this.

To start, I love the look of this book; a novel in the form of an IKEA catalogue rip off? It's a beauty of a book, and the front cover is a little unsettling (with the terrifying face in the picture frame that you don't notice at first but as soon as you do it's literally all you can see?), so I thought this could suitably freak me out or, failing that, give me a sweet story underneath it.

This book, unfortunately, gave me neither.

Was it the best thing I've read from this author? No. It wasn't. However, there's something that I really, really appreciated about this novel.

It highlights the fact that retail and capitalism is the purest of all evils.

I work in retail, and I understand. Everytime the characters talked about a customer they had, I've had that same customer. It's a universal experience for all retail employees and to find out that you're work is haunted on top of it? Give me a break, hand me a coffee and let me sit down for five minutes, please? It's not so much fear as it is an eye-rolling "of course it's today of all days; not only do I have an 8 hour night shift with my least favourite colleague, but there's also a ghost in the building. Unbelievable." While the characters do go on to be downright terrified, it's their retail skills that get them out of some situations, and the fact that they know this store like the back of their hand that saves some of them.

I think the author had fun with the novel, and aside from it being just a tad too long I had fun reading it. I wasn't creeped out, there was no sweet story, but I enjoyed it none the less. It was fun and captivating with a somewhat intriguing mystery and a great main character. The other characters where just kinda there, but our main character, Amy, was a great one. Her character arc for only 200+ pages was well thought out and well written and I loved the ending of this novel. I've come to find that that's something that Grady Hendrix does really well and I always like the ending chapter of his novels.

Overall, a gorgeous cover, a fun story (that I wouldn't say was particularly scary) with a well thought out main character plot. It's a shame that every other character is just kinda there, I feel like that's a missed opportunity.

The author has a new release out this month that is already on my Amazon Wishlist. Even if I dont quite get what I want from this author, I always get something and that's exciting to read; I love going into his books with no expectations other than "somehow, I will enjoy this."

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Title: Heartstopper, volume 3 by Alice Oseman (Heartstopper, #3)

Prompt: Ancient Rune: Heart Rune, read a book with the word heart in the title, or a heart on the cover

Page Count: 384 Pages 📚

Rating: 3.75 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: In this volume we’ll see the Heartstopper gang go on a school trip to Paris! Not only are Nick and Charlie navigating a new city, but also telling more people about their relationship AND learning more about the challenges each other are facing in private…

Meanwhile Tao and Elle will face their feelings for each other, Tara and Darcy share more about their relationship origin story, and the teachers supervising the trip seem… rather close…?

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"What do you want from us? Forgiveness? 'Well done'? You said all that homophobic stuff to me, but it's okay, because you're sorry? I'm glad you've realised the error of your ways - but it's not my job to give you a gold star."

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You know what I like about this series? It's sweet and fluffy with deep exploration of real life issues in a digestible manner. It's not filled with angst and tears and hard topics with no light inbetween. When it looks at issues such as homophobia, transphonia, biphobia, coming out, self harm, eating disorders, racism, etc... it never loses sight of the fact that, to its core, this series is nice and fluffy and heartwarming. And I really, really appreciate that.

I think this volume is the weakest in the whole series, but it has the best scene; Charlie confronts his bully and he says things that I wish I could have said to mine. I experienced homophobic bullying at high school, and when I read the scene between Charlie and Harry, it filled me with a longing of sorts. He got to say what I wished I could say, and the author doesn't fall into giving that character a redemption arc. He's realised that he was wrong and that's good; people change and grow and develop, but it isn't for Charlie to help him on that road. Charlie was his victim! He doesnt have to! It's not his job to absolve anyone! And that was so refreshing to see.

This series has a nice diverse cast and they bounce well off of each other, and it's nice to see a mainly LGBTQIAP+ cast, and that the side characters have their own relationships and friendships going on. Charlie and Nick aren't the centre of everyone and everything and the side characters are wonderfully fleshed out and complete characters on their own.

As I said, this volume I feel is the weakest and least memorable so far (they go to Paris and that's pretty much it?), but it's a heart warming series about two boys who genuinely love each other and it's written in a lovely format. Looking very much forward to the next volume!

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Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky by McKenzie Lee (Montague Siblings, #1.5)

Promot: Potions: Shrinking Solution, read a book under 150 pages

Page Count: 137 Pages 📚

Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: Monty’s epic grand tour may be over, but now that he and Percy are finally a couple, he realizes there is something more nerve-wracking than being chased across Europe: getting together with the person you love.

Will the romantic allure of Santorini make his first time with Percy magical, or will all the anticipation and build-up completely spoil the mood?

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"Do you mean to tell me that you haven't fornicated yet?"

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You know what this book was? It was incredibly fun. It was a short and snappy read with hilarious one liners and incredibly charming characters.

This book follows on from the end of the first book in this series, so I can't say too much about the setting because of spoilers, but I can tell you that for such a short read, I honestly felt like I was hanging out with them. It felt like I was reading a One-Shot fanfic (which, I have to make clear, isn't a bad thing! I think fanfiction is filled with terrific writing and wonderful plots and clever exploration of characters, just like this book), the premise is literally Monty attempting to get laid and all the attempts that he puts forward that are absolutely going to fail and it's just for you to settle back and enjoy the ride, really.

I like all the characters in this series, but Felicity is the actual best, okay? She's full of snark and wit and sass and she's an actual gem of a character. I appreciate Monty as well, with his sensitive artist-18th century frat boy persona (as I've seen him described) and his tendency to lament and dramatize, he's a joy to read about. Felicity has my heart though, sorry Montz.

For such a short read I genuinely think this has a lovely story to it, and that it's an incredibly sweet love story. I will say that I don't think it's the most memorable novella, and it didn't leave me wanting more, but it lays out exactly what it's going to do and there's lovely communication between the characters where they actually talk and discuss things, which was a joy to see.

Thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm really liking this author's writing style.

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Title: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Prompt: Charms: Read a book with a white cover and Tomb Reader: Read a book by a deceased author.

Page Count: 347 Pages 📚

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.

Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer—in case he or she decides to strike again.

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"The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances."

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This was my first Agatha Christie and I started with an absolute classic. I can see immediately just why this book is a classic.

I already knew prior to reading this just who the culprit was, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of reading it at all. The only reason this doesn't get 5 stars, honestly, is the repetition. I understand why the repetition is there, and I think it's a very clever and engaging mystery, but it just wore on me after awhile. It wasn't even repetition in terms of the text, it was also in the format that I felt it and after the tenth interview chapter I just had to put the book down for a bit.

But, as I said before, I thought this was quite clever. A good set of characters that kept you on your toes as we uncovered secret after secret. I know who had done it, but I didn't know why, and that was incredibly interesting to me. I think it could err on the side of convoluted just a little, but for when this was written, and just how well it was written, I'm more than willing to forgive that.

I loved that all the clues are there in the text, so that as you re-read this novel you can see them as you read it; it isn't just all uncovered at the end, they're all there, just waiting for you to find them along the way.

I can't wait to get my hands on more of her work, and I can't believe that I hadn't read them before. (I watched the 2017 Hollywood adaptation with Kenneth Branagh right after reading this, and I honestly think they did this novel so dirty. Way to dramatize something that really doesnt need to be dramatized. This was quietly clever, the film just tried way too hard.)

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Title: Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

Prompt: 1) Defence Against the Dark Arts: Read a book set by the sea or a coast

Page Count: 310 Pages 📚

Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost boy to his greatest enemy.

Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter's idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock—the kinds of playthings that bite.

Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever.

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"Was this, too, part of growing up? Was it facing the bad things you'd done as well as the good, and knowing all your mistakes had consequences?"

---

So, I should probably make a confession here. I have never liked the story of Peter Pan. It's my least favourite Disney movie, and I always thought that Peter himself as a character was no good. Always. Ive seen many an adaptation, and I've enjoyed some of them (Hook and a local play I went to this Christmas that was truly wonderful), so it was oddly refreshing to see a take on this story that let Peter be the bad guy; a twisted version of a fantastical tale, flipping the story that we're all familiar with on its head. And this is something that Christina Henry does well, and I'm very excited to read her other works.

However, I wish that it'd been darker. I know, for those who have read it, this book gets dark. Does it get darker than manipulation, child kidnap and murder and emotional and physical torture? Probably not, but that wasn't necessarily what I needed to be darker; not what physically happens to our main character Jamie, but the emotions that come from them. He seems to walk the line between logical and emotional and I felt a disconnect from him as a character because of it. Let him be angry, let him be furious, let him be scared and frustrated and lonely and feel hopeless and lost. It just never quite pushed it far enough for me as the reader, but Jamie goes on to grow as a character and I think it's done rather well, its just missing that little connection there for me to really root for him.

Another issue I had with this book where the side characters, Charlie and Sal. I get that Charlie was too young and he can't do things the way that the other boys can, and the point of his character is to be the first crack in the relationship between Jamie and Peter, but man he got on my nerves after awhile. He felt more like a plot device then a well rounded character. Truly, truly irritated me, and I felt that Sal had no point inside this narrative at all? Also, Tinkerbell was massively underused, I honestly feel like this would have been the perfect story to put in a mischievous, back stabbing fairy and it felt like a missed opportunity.

I read this book in about two days and I really enjoyed it, it was an incredibly engaging read with great plot points, an overall narrative and a great take on the manipulative Peter that shows him in his true colours. It just missed the mark for me as it didn't punch me in the feels, but I have all her other works on my wishlist on Amazon, and I hope to get to them soon.

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Title: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (Skyward, #1)

Prompt: Momma Pick

Page Count: 510 📚

Rating: 5 Stars ⭐

Synopsis: Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

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"It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say than about what is right. Bravery isn't about what people call you, Spensa. It's about who you know yourself to be."

---

I'm gonna say something that's maybe sacrilege. I thought Brandon Sanderson as an author was a little overrated. Not to say that I thought he was bad, not by a long shot, but I distinctly remember reading The Final Empire years ago and thinking "this is a good book...but it's not phenomenal." I never even finished the second book (though I do still own them). I just assumed I was in the minority and carried on with my life, accepting the wide spread love for Sanderson even though I didn't understand it.

Then I read this one. I bought it initially because I was intrugued; an author famous for adult high fantasy series is writing a young adult sci-fi? How would he pull his skills from a fantasy world to a science and technology based one? But I had no immediate plans to read it, so when my mother picked it off the shelves for me to read to fulfill the given prompt, I was a little disappointed actually.

How naive was the Kelly from just over a month ago? She had no idea the story waiting for her inside would turn out to be one of her favourites from 2020 so far. I was gripped reading this story. The character arcs and growth, the humour, the fight scenes, the emotional tugging of my heart, it had so many elements that I love and it did them so well.

It also had my absolute favourite trope in any story.

A rag-tag bunch of misfits pull together to save the world. Yes. Give me every book in this series and give them to me right now. I loved the connections between the characters and I loved the growth between them all; in that last battle scene I was on the edge of my seat, I was almost afraid to look away. The tension, the unease, the fear, it was all woven together meticulously and I was hooked.

I appreciated a lot of the social commentary in this novel, from heritage to culture to the military and identity. One character chooses to change their path in life. One embraces theirs. Another changes theirs. There is no set path in life, it all comes down to choice. To being brave. To accepting your skill and knowing that you're worthwhile. Knowing that you're doing the right thing.

Overall, while there was some repetition and I think the reveal could have had more explanation and depth to it, I adored this novel. So much so, I'll definitely give his other works another chance after this. This is certainly the novel to read if you want to start reading Brandon Sanderson.

I'm also a sucker for sentient AIs with a dry sense of humor. I hope the sequel brings more M-Bot - not only is he incredibly mysterious, he's the funniest character in the whole novel.