Category: Fantasy

Book Review: For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

Published on by Celeste5 Comments

FOR THE WOLF by Hannah Whitten is the first book in the Wilderwood duology. In this dark fantasy, Red is the first second daughter to be born in centuries. As a result, her sole purpose is as a sacrifice for the Wolf in the Wood in the hopes the Wolf returns some captured gods. But once Red finds herself face to face with the Wolf, she starts to understand things in a whole new light.

Author: Hannah Whitten
Series: Wilderwood #1
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: June 1, 2021
Print Length: 480

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Book Review: The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

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This review contains spoilers for The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, the two books in Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air trilogy.

Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: November 19, 2019
Pages: 308
Type: Hardback

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Official Synopsis
He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity . . .

My Review
Jude, now the Queen of Faerie, has been exiled to the human world and isn’t certain she’ll ever see Elfhame again. Jude distracts herself from Cardan’s betrayal by taking odd jobs from the fey living amongst humans. After one such job she comes home and unexpectedly encounters Taryn, whose life is in danger. To save her sister, Jude must return to Elfhame and avoid being caught. But war is looming and her plans go awry, forcing her to confront her feelings for Cardan and ensure the crown doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Still reeling from the end of The Wicked King, I felt very upset for Jude. However, as a reader, it’s interesting to get a look behind the glamor and see how some of the fey live in the human world. It’s not a huge part of the story, but it’s another tendril of creativity that helps to build out this trilogy’s world just a little further. But I semi-digress…

I was equally upset to find Taryn sitting in Jude’s apartment asking for help considering what she did to Jude in the last two books. I wasn’t as surprised that Jude agreed to help, though it would have been nice to see her push back a little bit more. In that same vein, I do feel that overall this series doesn’t have a lot of confrontation between siblings; they all seem so willing to forgive each other. Perhaps that sticks out to me because I unfortunately tend to harbor chips on my shoulder for a little while, but then again, why isn’t Jude more hesitant when it comes to Taryn’s requests?

Anyway, we follow Jude back into Elfhame where she must try to get a pardon for Taryn. Instead, after she arrives, she inadvertently finds herself whisked away to an unfamiliar area of Elfhame. There she must play a game of pretend in order to make her way back to the High Court to thwart a scheme to take the crown away from Cardan. Though I really enjoy reading about the happenings of court life, the stakes of Jude’s predicament made it hard to put the book down for fear she’d get caught. I also appreciate that the author extended our knowledge of Elfhame’s lands and citizens by plopping Jude down in an area wholly unknown to her.

And, you know that prophecy about Cardan that Black casually wrote about in the last book? That fully comes out to play. And perfect timing, too, what with war about to happen. I personally found the culmination of the prophecy to be a little underwhelming. I wasn’t as disappointed as I was with the ending of Ruin and Rising. But I feel like it all happened rather quickly given the three book build up to the end.

Though I enjoyed reading this book overall, I feel like the ending was just a little too perfect. There are certainly hardships, but maybe I’m a glutton for a couple more notches of despair. I also would have appreciated if Black explored Nicasia’s and Asha’s characters a little more, considering their complex relationships with Cardan and Jude.

Ultimately, this series, and particularly this last installment, is about finding confidence in yourself, working towards a personal (or common) goal, and learning that it’s ok to be vulnerable in order to build trust, friendship, and loyalty.

Rating: 4/5
Content warnings: non-graphic sex, battle scenes
Reading format: Paperback

Book Review: Granted by Kendra Thomas

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Author: Kendra Thomas
Publisher: Independent Book Publishers Association
Publish Date: May 5, 2020
Pages: 270
Type: Paperback

Official Synopsis
Sabeara Aigoviel, princess of Aveladon, wants nothing more than for her heart to glow. The Stone-Hearted power that is received at the age of eighteen is her ultimate wish. With a grim curse looming over the realm and a neighboring kingdom’s conspiring plans, contentions arise. Moments of danger summon evil forces, sending Sabeara into a whirlwind of adventure, captivity, and even love.

Rescued by a handsome stranger in a brown cloak, they navigate the kingdoms to bring her safely home. When her rescuer arrives betrothed to her beloved older sister weeks later, it is all she can do to erase their memories. Will Sabeara be able to defeat the curse on the Stone-Hearted race? And will she be able to forget the memories of her epic ventures with her cloaked rescuer?

My Review
I received a free, digital, advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is my own and reflects my honest opinion about this book.

Granted by Kendra Thomas is a very character-driven young adult fantasy about a princess who stumbles across the existence of a curse threatening her kingdom. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with character-driven (over plot-driven) books and I’ve read plenty of great character-driven stories. However, I picked up this book up because its summary intimates an intriguing magic system and adventure prompted by a looming curse. I was also looking forward to a little YA fantasy romance.

Unfortunately, the magic system, at least in this first book of a trilogy, is somewhat underdeveloped. At the age of 18, the Stone-Hearted people receive their power from a magical tree that houses spirits and magic. Each person’s power is different as is the magnitude of said power, which is indicated by the color of their glowing stone heart.

The author sets up a perfect opportunity to tell us more about this system in that Sabeara’s sister, who’s just turned 18, is about to receive her power. But the door to learn more is literally (in the story) shut and we only learn snippets about it as Sabeara meets new people and learns what they can do with their power. I feel like it was a missed opportunity to tell the reader more about how a Stone-Hearted person receives their power. I can only hope that Thomas elaborates more on this in the next book.

Thomas does, however, spend more time developing Sabeara’s character than she does with the magic system. Sabeara’s mother died when she was young. In his grief, Sabeara’s father, the king of Aveladon, loses sight of the importance of running the kingdom and giving his daughters the attention they deserve. As a result, Sabeara doesn’t feel like he’s been a good father and loses some of her respect for him from his poor governance. This sort of situation is a breeding ground for complicated feelings. Thomas does explore this, but the way Sabeara navigates these emotions fell a bit flat for me. Sure, volatility, glares, and disrespect from Sabeara are to be expected, but the way Thomas writes these actions make Sabeara seem more juvenile than she actually is.

With respect to the promised YA romance, it is a bit trope-y. Guy rescues girl and they end up liking each other. I’m totally fine with that trope. I have absolutely no problem with it and even concede I have a soft spot for it. However, the flirting dialogue was cheesy and forced. There are a lot of sarcastic “sweethearts” (think Han Solo from Star Wars, but not witty). There’s a lot of smirking and a lot of the author describing words and emotions as “sarcastic.” I think the most interesting part of the romance is when [semi-spoiler!] we find out he has a hidden identity, which causes some family drama later in the story.

Thomas also misses an opportunity to tell us more about the curse. She describes Sabeara spending hours reading about the kings involved in this old curse. But as a reader we learn almost nothing from Sabeara or her conversations with others who know about the curse.

The writing in Granted isn’t bad, but in my opinion needs improvement. I feel there’s an overabundance of passive voice for a first person narrative. I also feel that there are unnecessary descriptions of rather mundane topics. The example that sticks out to me is the description of clothes. I don’t need to know what each character decides to wear each day; it’s not important to the plot. I constantly felt like the author used a thesaurus to insert synonyms into sentences. There are many sentences whose structures seem “off” (and I know I’m not perfect, either!), though for the most part I did understand what Thomas tries to impart to the reader. For example:

“The roof gave the resemblance of a tower to my prison…”
“An outside wind drafted into my bastille, causing me to be wracked with more shivers.”
“Unable to control the excitement within me, I fell onto the bed of roses and sunk into their soft contents.”

Overall, I feel like this story needs more copy editing. The magic system and the history of the curse provide a good backbone upon which the author can elaborate. I hope the next book(s) delve more into these story elements. Personally, I probably will not continue this series.

Rating: 2.25/5
Content warnings: kidnapping
Reading format: Kindle e-book

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Book Review: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Published on by Celeste5 Comments

After seeing glowing reactions and reviews to SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN on Twitter, this became a highly anticipated read for me. I think it’s safe to say (in my very subjective opinion) that Shelley Parker-Chan’s book lives up to the hype. Parker-Chan’s writing is phenomenal and really made me feel like I was in ancient China watching events unfold.

Author: Shelley Parker-Chan
Series: The Radiant King #1
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: July 20, 2021
Print Length: 416

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Book Review: The Wicked King by Holly Black

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This review contains spoilers The Cruel Prince, the first book in Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air trilogy.

Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: January 8, 2019
Pages: 336
Type: Hardback

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Official Synopsis
You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

My Review
At the end of The Cruel Prince, Jude bound Cardan to her before making him the High King of Elfhame. Taken by surprise, Cardan refuses to play the role of a good High King and instead spends his time living in gluttony and revelry. Thus, Jude, now the High King’s Seneschal, becomes the power behind the throne and makes decisions for the good of Elfhame behind the scenes. But not everyone wants to see Cardan wear the crown. There are some who’d rather see it on another Greenbriar head, and some who’d rather wear it themselves. So Jude balances her silent rule with her duties as spymaster to keep the High King safe. Only a few months into Cardan’s rule, Jude learns that someone close to her will betray her. Working against time, she seeks to identify the traitor while also trying to understand her complicated feelings for the wicked king.

This book is the second installment of Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series. I enjoyed the first book a lot and, now that Elfhame is a firmly established setting, there’s more room for plotting and scheming. The Wicked King reminded me a lot of a “game of thrones,” but told from the viewpoint of one character, Jude.

In The Cruel Prince Jude uncovered Madoc’s plot to rule as High King as regent to Oak, Jude’s younger brother. Though Jude won that battle, Madoc is a redcap and battle is his nature and he will not fly the flag of surrender. Jude now knows that Madoc won’t underestimate her again, and she must constantly gather information to stay one step ahead of him.

Though Jude begrudgingly secured the loyalty of some courts, discontentment still simmers, particularly in the Undersea, ruled by the powerful and influential Queen Orlagh. Cardan’s ghastly behavior creates further dissatisfaction among those who’ve pledged their loyalty to the crown. And Locke’s appointment as Master of Revels does little to improve Cardan’s reputation and threatens to jeopardize Jude’s silent rule. Disapproving of Cardan’s behavior, confused by her feelings for him, and worn down by her responsibilities, Jude avoids the High King as much as possible, but can only do so for so long.

Once again, Jude’s tenacity and fortitude impress me. Cardan is unspurprisingly frustrating, but the slow burn is there and I’m here for it. The story mostly focuses on the political chess game, but there some moments allow us a glimpse into what makes Cardan do what he does. There are a couple of scenes which “humanized” the Bomb and the Roach into characters who are more than just spies. Though still minor characters, there is more page time with Vivi and Heather, Vivi’s girlfriend. I think most of us agree that Taryn’s and Locke’s relationship is toxic, but I feel similarly about Vivi and Heather.

(Mild spoiler ahead.) I don’t think their relationship is nearly as toxic as Taryn’s and Locke’s. But Vivi, who seems to have a vivid understanding of right and wrong where Madoc is concerned, seems strangely unable to be truthful with Heather. Since this story is from Jude’s point of view we don’t know exactly why Vivi isn’t forthcoming with Heather, but I hope she finds it within herself to be honest in the next book. (End mild spoiler.)

The character who betrays Jude surprised me. There are a couple of betrayals, one of which I expected, and the other, not so much. Not to mention the ending of this book shocked me and, if you follow me on Twitter, you got to see my reaction after I finished it. I was so mad! I truly hope these characters redeem themselves in the final installment of this trilogy.

Rating: 4.25/5
Content warnings: murder
Reading format: Paperback