Art & Book Reviews by Iryna & Susan

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Babel by R.F. Kuang - My Review

And we're BACK FROM HIATUS. First review since COVID I think. And it's a long one.

A beautiful, dark, and thought-provoking fantasy that explores coming-of-age, etymology, colonization, immigration, white supremacy, industrial evolution, and finally revolution. This is not a light read at 560 pages and as some reviews suggest Ms. Kuang takes a painstakingly detailed brush to Oxford and etymology -- but I ate this all up. English is not my first language and learning English after learning Russian was challenge. Why is laid pronounced like paid but said is pronounced like bread? Why is the order of adjectives (which is an unspoken agreement): opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun? The book dives into how the English language (through colonization) has evolved and absorbed languages. The influence slang and class have on etymology. But also introduces a magic system based on linguistic anthropology. 

At the center of this, we have four incredible scholars from various backgrounds all eager to prove themselves for very different reasons. As we learn more about Ramy, Robin, Victoire, and Letty, we learn how drastically different this group of friends is and how these differences reflect their upbringing, class, race, and also the current political climate. Inevitably these differences lead to a rift amongst friends and also the sparks of revolution. Which all culminates in betrayal, murder, and more. I won't say more to not give any plot twists away. However, if you are familiar with Ms. Kuang's other series, The Poppy War -- you should not be surprised that this is not a light or romantic tale. It is not nearly as graphic as The Poppy War which portrays (in a fantastical setting) some of the atrocities of the Sino-Japanese War.

While great detail was added to Oxford, the universities, language and more I would have loved to see more development of some of the characters. In particularly Victorie, whose past, projects, and feelings we discover in Act 4/5. Alas I also understand why it was necessary to highlight/exaggerate some of the other characters given the novel is alreay over 500+ pages. Finally, interwoven with the painstaking detail to is dialogue that ties it all together even with bits of humor. And I'll leave you with this gem:

‘You know,’ said Robin, ‘there’s a Chinese character, xiǎn,* which can mean “rare, fresh, and tasty”. But it can also mean “meagre and scanty”.’ Ramy spat the truffle into a napkin. ‘Your point?’ ‘Sometimes rare and expensive things are worse.’ 

Ps. This masterpiece is a standalone. A rarity amongst high fantasy. That alone deserves recognition. Pre-order your copy today. Out in August 2022!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

xx

Susan

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The Blacktongue Thief - my review

4 out of 5 stars

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you publisher!*

I will start off with saying  that I was approved for an audiobook of this title,

so my review will be based, not only  on the story, but also on the voice

acting. 

For the most part I really enjoyed the book, it’s very imaginative, fast paced and has a very unique world. I think that  anyone who has enjoyed The Malazan Empire or The Lies of Locke Lamora will really like this. Our main hero is funny, relatable and cunning. He finds himself in a predicament, he owes money to the Thief Guild for his education, and they want their money. So they give him a task - to go with a knight who is on aa journey to find a lost princess, now turned Queen. While the description of the book sounds a bit generic - I promise you, the story is not. It is full of adventure, humor, sea voyages and kraken, witches, goblins and giants, heroic knights, love stories, friendships and quests. These are all the things I enjoyed  about the book.

However, the book is not without its problems. I am going to start off by  saying that the author is also the narrator of the book - which just rubbed me wrong…okay so you can write, doesn’t mean you can act. And boy…is his accent atrocious. The whole time he is trying to do a Scottish, Irish, Northern Ireland accent (I mean you name it - he tries) and it’s just…bad. Why couldn’t Tor hire an actor from somewhere in the UK/Ireland and call it a day? 

And then there is the singing…I mean I know fantasy authors do this..but can we just not? I don’t care to read the song and I certainly don’t care to listen to them being sung with a bad accent. 

But what really ticked me was the description of the giants. So giants  are the bad guys here (along with goblins) and lo and behold they are described as having tattoos all over  the body (which is fine) and having dreadlocks…can we abandon this trope that dreadlocks or POC hair styles are used to describe bad  guys? NOT ONLY THAT, but the author then says that only the lower cast giants have dreadlocks because, and I am NOT making this up, they can’t afford to comb their hair. Okay so not only are the bad guys given POC hair but now they have that hair ONLY BECAUSE THEY’RE POOR? Did this go through any  sensitivity reading? So yeah I took off a star for  that. It really irked me…so so so much  that I am still thinking about it. 

Also - can we not with  the animal cruelty and rape? Like can we have one fantasy book where that  shit doesn’t happen? 

-Iryna

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The Left-Handed Booksellers of London - My Review

I have a soft spot in my heart for Garth Nix's writing since reading Sabriel a decade ago. I was really excited to receive an digital ARC of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London and it did not disappoint!

This book gave me Stranger Things vibes because of the 80's setting but with a dash of traditional British fantasy (think Douglas Adams) and none of the gore. Our protagonist, Susan, is an 18 year old artist who is on a quest to find her father, a man who has been out of the picture her entire life. She has little clue as to who he is with no help from family members. Susan encounters Merlin, the wizard, when he turns her "Uncle" (no relation) into dust. Merlin is on his own quest but befriends Susan only to learn that she is hunted by all sorts of creatures. Merlin is also part of a police force that helps protect the citizens of the Old and New Worlds. He has a larger than life personality and wit. You can't help but rooting for Susan, Merlin and Vivian. The writing in this book is light and fun with dry humor, perfect for middle grade (10-13) or fans of Terry Pratchett. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and escaping the dark headlines of today. Don't hesitate to order a copy of your own! I received a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

xx

Susan

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To Sleep in the Sea of Stars - my review

4 out of 5 stars

To Sleep in the Sea of Stars is Paolini's first adult novel - and he makes a BIG splash with it. You can tell that this book is a product of love, patience and years and years of labour. Paolini has thought of it all. The novel has a great storyline, a complex and believable MC, wonders of the universe, diverse cast and a good ending I highly recommend this book to any Sci - Fi fan out there. And if you are like me and listen to books all day long - Jennifer. Hale does a FANTASTIC job narrating this book.

My only qualm with the book is that it could be shorter - in a true Paolini fashion, he drags it out a bit.

~ Iryna

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The Empire of Gold - My Review

It took me a while to get through the nearly 800 pages of The Empire of Gold. I had forgotten so much of what happened in Kingdom of Copper. I was also just generally not a fan of the love triangle and was really hoping to see Nahri excel on her own. I still think Nahri from City of Brass was my favorites—scrappy, sarcastic, stands-on-her own Nahri. The first 30-40% (I'm reading on a Kindle) focus on character and emotional development much of which is driven Nahli and Ali's growing romance. I struggled with this the most because after rereading the ending of Kingdom of Copper I was hoping for more tension and more action. In contrast Dara's dark, grim chapters were a bit more of what I was anticipating. It felt a bit disorienting to switch but Chakraborty has always been fantastic at building that slow tension and culminating in an explosion of change. The prose and world building was as beautiful as the previous books in the series and will not disappoint. I think the conclusion really made it for me. So many trilogies fall into trap of having too many loose ends and try to solve them all at once. I loved Dara's ending. I teared up at their parting words: " I would do it again, Dara. I would take your hand a thousand times over." This bittersweet moment choked me up for two reasons. Dara is finally able to chose a path for himself and gain redemption after millennia. Their love is still there but has changed. This was so much more realistic than a "they lived happily ever after". There was just no world where Dara and Nahri could be together. And while I still don't love Ali and Nahri, I wanted happiness and family for our little thief too. 4 stars for the epic conclusion to one of my favorite trilogies of all time. I received a digital ARC courtesy of Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

xx

Susan

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How to Break an Evil Curse - My Review

Entertaining satire of high-fantasy and fairy tale novels. Our protagonist, Julianna, is an unloveable, soulless (literally) and exiled princess with a sarcastic demeanor—the opposite of what a "good" princess should be. She has as retinue consisting of a ghosts and guardians and they go on a quest to find a prince that can break her curse (but she doesn't want it broken). All standard parts of the fairy tale canon. Throw in an evil wizard with dashing good looks, sprinkle in some women's rights movements, pirates, and you have the Chronicles of Fritillary.

The omniscient narrator has a quick, dry humor reminiscent of Good Omens but alas not as funny. His humor and the characters were often very similar so it was hard to discern who was speaking.

I would recommend this for fans of Shrek and Disenchantment who are looking for a nonstandard adventure.

3 stars for How to Break an Evil Curse

xx

Susan

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The Orphan of Cemetery Hill - My Review

The Orphan of Cemetery Hill is a delightful, gothic mystery set in 19th century Boston. While maybe not as dark or as riveting as The Witch of Willow Hall, I still found myself enjoying The Orphan and read it in one sitting.

Inspired perhaps by the period's penny dreadfuls and the actual crimes of Burke and Hare, The Orphan follows the story of medium, Tabby Cooke, as she navigates life as the adopted daughter of a cemetery keeper. Tabby is also young orphan secretly sought after for her uncanny ability to speak with the dead. Her distant family seeks her to profit, others seek her for more nefarious reasons.

Interspersed with the story of Tabby’s gift is a murder mystery surrounding a young lady and series of grave robberies in addition to a love story. The love story was sweet but maybe a little unbelievable given the short, limited encounters Tabby had with this person. I was expecting more flashbacks to her child hood to help build the foundation but it was still nice.

4 stars for The Orphan is Cemetery Hill. Perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper, Jacaby, Rivers of London and more.

xx

Susan

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I just finished this value study for my next painting of Hades and Persephone (heavily inspired by Rachel Smythe and her incredible webtoon Lore of Olympus). Now to experiment with some color :). 

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The Chalice and the Crown - My Review

The Chalice and the Crown is a wonderful, YA fantasy novel for fans of Danielle Jensen's Malediction Trilogy and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. While the method of transportation to the City of Roses is similar to Carroll's Alice—that is where the similarities end. Sasha is a young, Russian prima ballerina. Like many ballerinas, she is obsessed with perfecting her craft and because of this her health suffers. Like her mother before her, she is plagued by nightmares of a distant land where she is a thrall or slave to a rich family. Dreams and reality merge when Sasha's soul is ripped from her and transported to the thrall's body. She must use her wits and her friends to find a way to escape and return home. Along the way she finds love and friendship while trying to change the history of slavery in the kingdom. Flamouri's debut novel (she had previously had a few short story anthologies) is well written and the pacing keeps you engaged throughout the book. She has interwoven bits of Russian culture without going over the top. For example, the pet name "kotik" or little kitten that grandma Nadia calls Sasha. Or the traditional Russian lullaby, "Bayu Bayushki", which is prevalent throughout Sasha's story as a coping mechanism for the young heroine. The only thing that would really tip you off is Sasha doesn't have a patronymic but instead has a patronymic surname (Nikolayeva means of Nikolai) which happens with first generation Russian-Americans. Overall 4 stars for The Chalice and the Crown. I was very pleased with how The Chalice and the Crown concluded. This is a standalone YA which was very refreshing and Flamouri did a fantastic job tying up loose ends. The romance was sweet but not the focal point. There are a number of dark themes but the author does a great job cautioning any readers who may see these as a potential trigger. I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Xx

Susan

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The King’s 100 - my review

The King's 100 was exactly what I expected and I love it that much for that. Perfect for young readers and fans of Meg Cabot. The King's 100 follows Princess Piper, a Capalon, who sneaks in to the enemy country of Mondaria to find any traces of her mother who mysteriously perished years before. There she auditions to become part of the King's 100, an acting and entertainment group based in the King's court.

It is really cute to see Piper explore the enemy kingdom and her own feelings. As a stem-focused country, Capalon puts emphasis on science and tries to remove emotion from every decision. So when Piper begins to feels the strings of love or jealousy, she shies away from these emotions and tries to focus on her goal of finding out more about the long lost queen.

This was a super quick and easy read. I can easily see this becoming a script for a Disney movie or an ABC Family show—it's light, it's fun, and it has a strong female lead. The ending did leave some things unresolved so I'm sure there will be a sequel that follows.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Immortal Works Press!

xx

Susan

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Race the Sands - My Review

Happy Book Birthday to Race the Sands! This was a very enjoyable, standalone fantasy read very similar to Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races. But where the plot was driven solely by romance between the riders, the water horses and the legendary race in Scorpio Races, Race the Sands also focuses on relationships. Relationships between mother and daughter, trainer and trainee, and competitors. I loved our MCs, Tamra and Raia. Tamra's character is usually played by a surely and cantankerous male so it was refreshing to see a confident and capable female. As a rider herself, Tamra understands the risks involved with the kehok races and trains her pupils not to bond with their charges. The kehok themselves are monsters that would do Doctor Moreau proud—from lion and lizard combinations, rhino and jaguar, to horse and jackal monstrosities. These monsters are the rebirth of the "darkest, most evil souls" of Becar which in and of itself is an interesting view on reincarnation. Intertwined with the races is a conspiracy against the royal family. Tamra and Raia are thrown into the center of this and must race (pun intended) to find a solution before the new emperor's coronation. Raia must rely on help from secondary character like the cunning Lady Evara, Prince Dar, and of course,  Tamra to save the day. This story has a little bit of everything - action, mystery, hints of a budding romance. I thoroughly enjoyed Race the Sands and the beautiful world of Becar and would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Scorpio Races, An Ember in the Ashes, Hidalgo, and more. I received a digital ARC courtesy of Edelweiss and the publisher, Harper Voyager, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

xx

Susan 

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The Shadow Wand - My Review

I really struggled with giving this book three or four stars because while it’s clear Ms. Forest tried very hard, there are a few things that bothered me. So after a night’s sleep, I rounded up to four and here is why:

Let’s start with the good:

Fans of Lukas Grey will love him even more in this book. As Elloren’s forced fastmate he continues to be the quiet savior and voice of reason. I won’t say more about their relationship because frankly it’s a huge plot point.

Elloren/Ren begins to grow a back bone about her powers! While our heroine is never shy about taking action, in the first two books she spent a lot of time lamenting about her powerlessness. Powerless no more! 

Some of our favorite or MY favorite secondary characters make an appearance! If you like Tiernay and Wynter, they have some chapters throughout. Mums the word about the other characters—you’ll need to read it.

There is plenty of action from all sides. Literally. Everyone is out to get Ren— even the trees want her dead. The trees try to bottleneck her power (not huge spoiler and hard to pinpoint why this would matter).

We learn more about the different races and magic sources in Gardeneria and the mythical East. It’s nice to finally leave the walls of Verpax University. 

And now the not-so-great:

The first 20% of the book is a rushed introduction to new characters. Characters that are also in some cases a new race of Fae. It’s a lot to take in when the second book ended on a cliffhanger focused on Yvan and Ren. Furthermore, I didn’t really understand why Ren was sent back into the arms of her enemy. Just didn’t seem wise?

We jump around the content and the plot a lot, going from POV to POV. I assume it’s meant to illustrate all the different parties involved in the conflict and that all of this will be resolved in the last book.

The jump from 3rd person to 1st person narrative for Ren was really clunky. I’m not a fan.

The way some characters are killed just seems too perfect. Like the author was trying to figure out a way to get rid of loose ends and dropped an ACME anvil on them.

The romance angle. I got pretty tired with having to hear about the flames burning Ren up.

Overall, you will not be bored or disappointed with The Shadow Wand. The third installment of The Black Witch Chronicles delivers on action, suspense, romance, and more! I very much look forward to the conclusion of this series.

I received a digital ARC courtesy of Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

xx

Susan

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Mexican Gothic - My Review

Crimson Peak meets Annihilation in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s newest gothic novel. While the Gods of Jade and Shadow remains my all-time favorite novel, Mexican Gothic did not disappoint. We head back to the beautiful country of Mexico in the 1950's, to a hillside mansion modeled after the English countryside. Our heroine, Noemi, is strong willed and intelligent but also flawed by her own hubris. Beseeched by her father, she sets out to save her cousin, Catalina, after a letter arrives highlighting her deteriorating mental state. Upon arriving at High Place, Noemi’s psyche begins to unravel as she is tested by the spirits that haunt the Victorian mansion. She begins to alternate between questioning her own intelligence and her surroundings. Could the house be as malevolent as Catalina described? As with Gods of Jade and Shadow, Moreno spares no detail into building suspense and crafting a dark world filled with shadows lurking in corners. The victorian house and the rundown village are a classic setting for gothic novels but it is juxtaposed against the sunny countryside of Pachuca, Mexico. Interspersed with references to Grim’a dark fairy tale, the heroine encounters horror of the worst possible kind at the hands of her captors. I really enjoyed Mexican Gothic for its innovative plot and setting. As a fan of horror in general, it’s pretty difficult to think of a thrill that hasn’t been done before. Moreno manages to weave a fresh tale of gothic horror using a very unique prop. At the center this tale is Ouroboros, the World Serpent, a symbol of life and death and is prevalent throughout our tale. While the plot is focused on the gothic mystery, there is a little nod to romance. However, don’t expect Wuthering Heights or Daphne. That said, if this sounds like a book you would love—order a copy today! You won't regret it. Also I don't know if I have just been following the news recently but I pictured Howard Doyle (the patriarch) as Harvey Weinstein and that just made him even more ghastly. 5 stars to Mexican Gothic. Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

xx

Susan

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I recently re-watched Avatar: the Last Airbender and I've always wanted to draw Aang as I imagined him in real life, this is probably sometime in his 20's, way later than the series finale. Damn that show is still as good as I remember it to be. 

~ Iryna

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The Will and The Wilds - My Review

Another wonderful, captivating story from Ms. Holmberg! The Will and the Wilds lives up to Ms Holmberg’s previous novels including The Paper Magician and The Fifth Doll. The story follows young Enna, a quiet and hard working woman, who lives in isolation with her father who has suffered brain trauma from war. Her world is haunted by demons or mystings from another realm. When two show up to steal something from Enna, she hires a stronger mysting to protect her family. Unfortunately, Maekallus, a soul stealing demon becomes trapped in the mortal realm. His exposure to the world causes him to decay and he enlists Enna’s help in breaking the bond. Romance is the focal point of this story and Holmberg spends time developing the two characters before letting them fall in love. The threat of death adds an urgency to the plot. Overall this book was well thought out and I never felt that the story was rushed. That being said, I would have loved more details about the Deep. Perhaps in another book we can learn all about the other realm? And why Scroud wanted to invade at all if the mystings can survive on the mortal plane. Highly recommend this book for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale and Keturah and Lord Death. I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher!

xx,

Susan

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I’m currently going through your book reviews and I saw your review for The Hazel Wood and was wondering if you’ve had a chance to read The Night Country yet?

I have not - it’s on my TBR but I have not gotten around to it yet

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“Never flinch" A cold whisper in her ear. "Never fear. And never, ever forget.” Mia Corvere, oil on board 5X7