Books

Books, Subscription Boxes

Worlds Collide Illumicrate Unboxing

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This is March’s Illumicrate box, and I am aware it is missing an item (it is listed in the card, so we know what is misisng but I won’t spoil it) and that is due to the pandemic affecting deliveries, so I won’t be counting that into this unboxing. They were more or less communicative about delays, but they were late in doing so and not very clear, which is not a great point to them (yes, it is a bit of a weird time, but most companies have been quick to notify and let customers and everyone know what’s going on).

So let’s see what was in the box, starting from the left and going clockwise:

  • The featured book, which is Havenfall by Sara Holland. I was looking forward to it and the edges are a gorgeous turquoise, really lovely.
  • This month’s coin and the previous month’s too (so they do keep their word of sending them once they have them). I am not big on the collectible coins, so this rarely ever weights in my opinion.
  • A clear plastic keyring. The artwork is nice and I get that they made it transparent to see the bottle through and all that, but it feels really cheap and like a “filler”. Specially if you compare to keyrings included in previous boxes.
  • A very nice print for City of Brass/Daevad trilogy, which I find gorgeous.
  • A mug, the artwork is nice but the quality is slightly blurry which doesn’t bother me much, but when it is next to the other mugs it feels a bit meh and doesn’t shine as much as it could have done.
  • Shrestha candle. It is glittery and smells delicious.

And the missing item. But even if that had been in the box, the recent boxes definitely feel like the quality and love have been missing from them. This makes me very sad, because given that at least hte last 2-3 boxes were much lower quality and felt underwhelming, I will probably have to cancel my subscription. Hard to do since I’ve been a subscriber for so long (from their fourth box, the Nevernight one). But I can’t keep paying for something that isn’t making me happy and that is lowering the quality and care for the box.

Book Review, Books

Little Lost Fox Review

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Little Lost Fox by Carolina Rabei

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Another cute children’s book I recently got gifted from my wishlist. It is easy to figure out why it was on my wishlist. Yes, it is because it has cute foxes on the cover and the title goes about it too.

The story is about a little girl who has a many toys but her favourite is a cute fox, but suddenly her fox disappears and is lost. So she follows some paw prints and finds a fox cub who seems lost and lonely, which it is why it has borrowed the fox toy.

And so they set off to search for Mother Fox around the area until they find her, but the little girl has made new friends so she has more company to play with afterwards.

The artwork is really cute and the story is lovely and just nice to read. The foxes are gorgeous and it wins at being easy to read but entertaining and heartwarming.

Book Review, Books

Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit! Review

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Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit! by Lorna Scobie

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit! was gifted by a friend from my wishlist because I saw it and thought it’d be a fun book to have and read (plus it made me think of my sister who keeps rabbits, and the friend who gifted it also has rabbits).

Best part, it has a surprise fox featuring in the story which made it even better.

But this is a book about a small bunny who gets all the best things and all for itself, until suddenly the rabbit parents surpise with a lot of siblings (you get it, the whole “like rabbits!” definitely applies here). So our bunny isn’t too keen on having suddenly a lot of comapny and having to share.

But what will be done about having so many new siblings around?

I thought the whole story was really cute and the artowkr is fun, with each new rbabit being unique in its way and a lot going on in page as we move further and further. Plus, despite thinking I knew what the next page had to say I was still surprised nicely by it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Highly recommended for children or just yourself as a treat for your tired mind and just needing something soothing and that will end well.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Music of the Night Owlcrate Unboxing

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The one thing I have to say about Owlcrate boxes so far is that they’re definitely making the effort to try ot be unique and have some special value item (either by the art and effort, or the item type). So let’s see what this one had, starting from the top left and going clockwise:

  • The theme card, I like the style so it was fitting for the theme.
  • Owlcrate socks, we all know I usually like socks if they’re soft and comfy and these are. And they are to celebrate Owlcrate’s anniversary 🙂
  • A Phantom of the Opera poster which was interesting to receive and I had to pile everything on it to keep it flat but really appreciated the fact it came rolled up and protected to avoid damage.
  • A mini portable speaker, which is the fun interesting item here and I was surprised and happy to see it in the box.
  • Ex libris cards with an owl and books, can’t complain at all.
  • A wooden plate in relief(it’s kinda carved?) with a quote from V. E. Schwab and the Monsters of Verity series.
  • A lip scrub which is probably the least interesting item for me and that I may not use.
  • Goblin Grove candle, it smells delicious.
  • The theme pin which is a great match to the featured read.
  • The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu. I am very curious and it is gorgeous so hoping it is a good book as it looks interesting.

As it tends to be, this was a great box once again and I was happy with the contents so it feels like good value for money.

Book Review, Books

Woven in Moonlight Review

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Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

A book based on Bolivian history with moon magic? yes please! And that is just the short premise of it. We have Ximena who has been the Condesa’s decoy for most of her life, to the point she’d die for her. But she doesn’t have to die, only marry the enemy King who is intent on destroying the few leftover Illustrians and has taken over the country.

But King Atoc is corrupt and obsessed with a drug and using it to make money while makignthe population addicted to it and slowly destroying what he built after de-throning the Illustrians.

At first I was incredibly annoyed by Ximena and Catalina (the true Condesa), but the plot was what kept me wanting to find out. I could see bits of where the inspiration for the made up things in the story came from and it made it richer and more interesting.

I never really ended up caring too much about Ximena, though she does grow a lot through the book which helped as she realises not everything she has been told and knows is actually the full truth.

We get a lot about food, weaving and clothes but not enough about the politics, history or the magic. Moon magic, come on! I was dying to know more about it, but we only really find the weaving magic and what Catalina is meant to do via the stars. Not much more is mentioned other than some healing abilities and hiding things, but not detailed enough and it is almost as if magic is an afterthought and yet it is incredibly significant to the story, so it didn’t sit well in my head the disconnect between the importance of the magic and how easily it was brished off to the side unless it was plot important. Or got Ximena out of a pickle.

The animals were cute and having El Lobo be this kind of Robin Hood/Zorro figure was fun but it was easy to guess who was behind it and it felt a bit frustrating that his part in the story is only to prompt Ximena to do things or challenge her when she’s out doing the things. We only know of him as folk hero, and again, the book feels like it only birngs certain things in as needed without any concept, and given how Ximena is that felt not right that she wouldn’t do more about it before she’s “forced” to do something about it.

A few other choices of actions for some of the characters felt odd but otherwise it was interesting and I enjoyed the story and the ideas behind it. It was fun to read and it went by fast (it didn’t feel like a drag or a struggle to read).

Books, Subscription Boxes

Mythical Monsters Book Box Club Unboxing

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Who doesn’t like the idea of mythical creatures? But what about mythical monsters? This box was full of a nod to them and so I’ll unbox starting in the bottom left and going towards the right:

  • The main book, Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury. It sounds a bit more horror like but I am very curious to read it!
  • A pin for hte Dark Compass
  • The theme card, which is very eerie.
  • A super ultra cute Niffler magnet which is adorable and immediately went unot my fridge (but I did debate giving it to Asha…)
  • Baby Nessie, the very charming mosnter of the tea (aka a tea filter in the shape of “Nessie” the Loch Ness monster).
  • The clubhouse invite, for our meeting with the author to discuss the book. Can’t wait, but first need to read the book!
  • Tea to fill Nessie’s belly! In this case a “Dragon” tea to go with the theme.
  • And finally, underneath it all, a gorgeous banner that I’ll probably use more as a tea towel than a banner because it is cloth and it is gorgeous. Love the colour of the illustrations of all the monsters/creatures of myths!

In general this was a great box with amazing stuff in it that made me smile and feels very on point for the theme. Nothing to complain about and the fact that the tea had a tea filter and it matched the whole theme was perfect. Bonus points for that!

Book Review, Books

The Upside of Falling Review

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The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

This book came as part of February’s Book Box Club. I am not big on contemporary reads and romance (if I am reading romance, I usually go full romancelandia), so I wasn’t hoping for much here (not that the book would be bad, more that I may not enjoy it much because it is just not my type of book).

However, it surprised me. It was easy to read, just quick, light reading. I could be reading, drop the book and come back to it and not have to read back a little to make sure I was in place. And it was fast to read.

The story is cute and predictable but still, easy to read, fluffy romance. A fake relationship that may not be fake after a while, which was nice to read and see them discover that they aren’t so different after all and how good each is and their strengths (and weaknesses).

Also, this book made me want to bake and eat cake a lot. Becca’s mother owns a bakery, so there’s always some kind of baked goods in there and gosh, you will be hungry!

All in all, it was a nice read for a romance and not too bothersome or over complicated just for the sake of. It kept the cuteness and the happy ever after, and all that making you want out of romance.

Book Review, Books

Beneath the Rising Review

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Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

I don’t usually read books that cross into “scary” land because I am not big on horror. But I like Premee and her twitter, and the fact that Johnny (one of the main characters) is a young female “genius” sold me to it.

One of the strengths of the book is setting the mood and the progression of the story. We start with a very “normal” (or as normal as having a genius world saving best friend can be) part of the story and Nick trying his best to figure out what comes next as Johnny goes further away and is less and less around due to all the amazing discoveries and inventions she is making, while he is the one working a bakery job to help his family.

Almost immediately I had a lot of things I wanted to quote as Johnny talks about how it is to be female, young and a scientist and have to compete against the established older male scientists. I don’t talk a lot about what I used to do for work and what I do now, but I used to be very similar to Johnny (sans the Ancient Ones). I was the one everyone expected great things. Had a big research career before I even graduated university. Doing big things, and everyone expecting great things… in Johnny’s words “everything”. So it was easy for me to engage with this book and to feel it to heart. Which made the scary a little less scary and more like “oh, that is scary but kinda interesting”.

Another strength is the relationship between Johnny and Nick. They are friends, but could they be more, and how can you keep a relationship (of whatever kind, friends or more) when the people in it are so different and understand each other’s challenges so little? Nick struggles to understand how despite Johnny being white and a genius, she still has barriers men wouldn’t have. And at the same time, Johnny fails to see what being brown and not being rich does to Nick. There are moments were they are as close as close can be and then you realise that at the same time ther eis this big chasm between them. It was masterfully done and it is proof of the craft that Premee can write an apocalypse/end of the world horror and at the same time have this intense view of a relationship as it moves and tries to define itself into adulthood.

Gosh, the Ancient Ones in themselves and the whole part of the plot that goes around it kept getting more and more interesting. The connections between cataclysms and ends of civilizations was also a bonus point for my history focused heart and just seeing all the little hints about geeky or nerdy stuff kept me smiling despite also being scared and worrying about the fate of the world and about Johnny and Nick.

And those last few chapters, well, that was magnificent and sad and intense and a big relief. A lot of emotions to be felt throughout it, and I couldn’t help but side a little with both of them and not be sure what exactly I wanted to happen because it was so hard to think what would be the best outcome for everyone involved.

Also, Ben and the genetically modified dung beetles that wouldn’t roll dung but might steal satsumas or other round objects made me giggle. The sarcams levels are great too, if you need a serving of that.

If you like history, science, geniuses and friendships put to the test with an end of the world, this is definitely your book. It gets my scarydorsement and my full endorsement as a read worth reading.

Book Review, Books

Narwhal’s Otter Friend Review

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Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

This is the fourth book in the Narwhal and Jelly series and it is as delightful as the previous ones have been.

The artwork is “simple” but it still manages to convey a lot of emotion and environment, plus the text is big and eays to read. Tehre is a lot of cuteness and humour and you get some true facts about the characters (or rather, the animals behind the characters).

In this book, we encounter an otter who insists it has had all sorts of adventures, one crazier than the other, and Jelly is very skeptical about this. But also, Jelly is a little jealous of how easily Narwhal seems to have replaced their friendship for Otter.

So Jelly sets out to find a new friend.

As per usual, the level of cuteness, amount of necessary waffles (yum, this is always a perfect thing), plus the superhero mini comic and the facts we get make it a fun easy read. It is also great for children and I find it a great read as an adult when I want something to give my brain a respite from work or a tedious/intense task. It is a little bit of sunshine and joy in the day.

The only complaint is that the books are too short, I wish they were longer, but they definitely are great and I will keep getitng thema s they come out (I certainly hope for more of them). Highly recommended!

Book Review, Books

Wilder Girls Review

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Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

I had seen very varying reviews of the book, but the premise had caught my eye a couple of years ago so I got it. I don’t regret it.

The book straddles the line of horror slightly and makes for a difficult one to place in a neat category. We meet Hetty, who is doing her best to survive in Raxter and to not succumb to despair. And she only really has two friends, Byatt and Reese.

Even before Byatt disappears, the panorama of how the girls are “infected” by the Tox and have this odd changes in their bodies, and they get ill and some die (and some have already died). Plus, it is hard to know who to trust out of the limited adults left taking care of them. As much as they still live in a school, there’s little of the school as a system left and it is all about survival.

There are a lot of secrets, a lot to learn about the Tox and as Hetty ends up being able to see odd things ahppening that are harder and harder to explain each day and to make sense fo them given their cirucmstances, tough choices have to be made.

And then Byatt disappears. This opens the point of view of Byatt, who shows us where she has been taken and what is going on in her world.

I found there was a lot left as secret but if you look back it slowly makes sense as you discover the truth. The idea is to make you feel as lost as Hetty and Byatt do when they’re going through. Which I did.

I did not like the ending being a bit open and not really getting much anywhere, it felt at first like it had ended and then suddenyl not sure. Are there more books to come? I don’t like having books play the “maybe a next book at some point” game.

But still, it was a good read and interesting concept.