Books – Page 46 – The Constellation of Moon

Adventure Awaits Illumicrate Unboxing

Posted on April 13, 2019

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First proper monthly Illumicrate. I have liked their quarterly boxes (and their special editions) for too long to not give this a go. So here we go. Startin from the theme card on the far right bottom corner and going clockwise:

Theme booklet. ~I like that you have to open it to see what is in the box, so you don’t spoil yourself accidentally.
LOTR pins. That Eye of Sauron, is so beautifully detailed!
The red and blue notebooks aren’t together but they’re meant to be a set of them inspired by The Raven Cycle (interesting that also Book Box Club box had something to do with this fandom, however, totally different items and both gorgeous).
Excalibur water bottle, which came at a good time as I have resolved to drink more water at work, so this one is now on my desk.
Muse of Nightmares postcard
Mistborn socks. I have a soft spot for socks, and this pair is discreet enough but also gorgeous, so win.
The Grand Tour mug rug, I have used it as a “teapot” rug instead and a “cooking pot” one too, and it is great at that. I had no clue what fandom it was at a glance and Grand Tour to me means cars and Amazon Prime show, so I knew I had it wrong. It is from The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice & Virtue and their tour (I wasn’t into this series, so yeah, wouldn’t have guessed).
Once & Future, the book and a “card” with the author letter. The book ahs gorgeous teal sprayed edges and I was smitten immediately!
PROUD bookmark
Do you dream of Terra Two? sampler. (Interesting but doesn’t feel like my thing…)

So overall, I liked this box. It felt a little more hodgepodge than the usual quarterly boxes but I am hoping this gets better as they make more monthly ones and figure out how to make it work.

Book Review, Books

Spectacle Review

Posted on April 11, 2019

Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok

A YA murder mystery in which a young reporter must use her supernatural visions to help track down a killer targeting the young women of Paris.

Paris, 1887.

Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Her job is to summarize each day’s new arrivals, a task she finds both fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the newest body, a young woman, being murdered–from the perspective of the murderer himself.

When the body of another woman is retrieved from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this victim may not be the last. Nathalie’s search for answers sends her down a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that Nathalie’s strange new ability may make her the only one who can discover the killer’s identity–and she’ll have to do it before she becomes a target herself.

Rating:

Paris, a young journalist woman with an interesting “gift”, a morgue, a mystery… all sound good to me!

The very first thing I have to say is that the Paris we are led to is very “period” accurate and I liked that. It was fun to read about references to things yet to come, and things that are already there. All of it made it more immersive.

The second thing is that for a mystery, this one definitely was. It kept me guessing over and over and over and I was never ahead of our heroine’s own discoveries. This is a little unusual, and I have to say it was a good thing. It didn’t leave me frustrated but more like “oh wow, I genuinely have no clue, but I need to know, please, let’s find out more”.

It also made me hungry and I want pain au chocolat in a quaint cafe while I write notes.

Natalie is a heroine with depth, and I don’t know if I would be okay with visiting the morgue to go looking at the corpses to “report” on them. That was interesting, because it gave a view on what could pass as entertainment. (I admit I find cemeteries interesting with the headstones and mausoleums, but I am not so sure about seeing the actual dead bodies).

It starts with one body and an accident that makes Natalie find out she can see what happened before the victim died, but she wonders if she hallucinated it or not. This gift she has, costs something, and it was something I liked. She can’t just plunge headlong and use it willy nilly, but instead has to consider the fact that it costs her something (won’t spoil what) and she can’t control that cost. Makes for a more complex conundrum, help solve this and sacrifice something or stay as I am but let this murderer get away with it? Tricky right?

It was a good book, and I just have to say that the last two pages completely confused me, but other than that, it was superb.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Favourites Fairyloot Unboxing

Posted on April 9, 2019

I bit the bullet for March’s Fairyloot because I wanted both book that would be in it, and a theme of Favourites should be pretty spectacular, right? Sadly, this box confirmed that I am not that into their boxes.

But let’s see what was inside, starting from the top left corner and going clockwise:

Three prints. The only one I recognised was the Warcross one. Apparently the other two are from The Cruel Prince and An Ember in the Ashes. The artwork is nice, but 3 paper items aren’t really winning me over for this box.
A golden metal bookmark that is embossed and inspired by Strange The Dreamer. I liked it but it’s not that amazing and the design gets lost in the metal.
Theme postcard.
Alice in Wonderland socks, probably one of the best items as I do like socks. But also, nothing special about them. I can easily buy socks like this just going to Oxford for the day and visiting the Alice shop.
Bookworm Page Tabs. I like page tabs and have loved the potion ones they sent in a previous box, but this ones are less striking. Still not too bad, not too good, or rather, not a favourite.
Theme bookmark
Tarot cards, not collecting them so neither here nor there for me. The artwork was very nice which at least was a bonus here.
Viper by Bex Hogan. That cover is gorgeous and I am so happy with this!
Author letter with artwork (for To Best the Boys)
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber, also another book I am looking forward to reading!
A purple Fairyloot pin. I wasn’t crazy about it, it is a bit “blurry” so not really stunning or striking.
And finally, underneath it all, a scarf with “favourite” books. It has spelling errors (I proof and proof my artwork if it has text, and when I “interpret” titles, I change to other words, not just omit letters), it is too translucent to actually show the books as books when you wear it, just looks like blots of colour, so not impressed. The artwork in itself has mmostly titles I don’t care about and that aren’t favourites.

All in all I was underwhelmed by the box. My favourite items were the books only, nothing else really made me think “oh yes, my favourites”, so for me the theme missed the mark. I am sure others loved it, but since I buy too many boxes and preorder too many books I have to be picky with what I get and sadly Fairyloot isn’t for me.

Book Review, Books

There is No Dragon in this Story Review

Posted on April 7, 2019

There Is No Dragon In This Story by Lou Carter and Deborah Allwright

Poor old dragon. Nobody wants him in their story. Not Goldilocks, not Hansel and Gretel – no one. But Dragon will not give up! He shall continue on his course of finding someone who wants him in their story. ANYONE. His boundless enthusiasm surely won’t get him into any trouble. Surely …

A glorious story about dragons, heroes and ice cream with sprinkles. From author Lou Carter, a phenomenal new talent, and Deborah Allwright, illustrator of the bestselling The Night Pirates.

Rating:

Another one of those books I randomly found and chose to buy. You can clearly see a dragon in the cover, but the title is that there is no dragon in this story. My curiosity got the best of me. Of course we had to have a dragon, right?

The book starts saying that this was supposed to be a traditional dragon story. The dragon steals a princess, the prince/knight saves her and slays the dragon. But that’s not the story because the dragon refuses to be the villain and wants to be a hero.

So Mr Dragon goes out to all the other stories in this world and kindly asks if he can help and be the hero. Maybe he can stop the wolf for the three pigs? Or do something for Goldilocks? But every story he goes to, they tell him the same thing, he can’t be the hero because “there is no dragon in this story”. Poor dragon.

He has to try one more time, and well, let’s just say this doesn’t go very well and everything goes wrong, so now every story needs a hero. Will the dragon be the hero? Or will this be another “no dragon” kind of story?

I laughed a lot and felt so much for the dragon while reading this. Throughly enjoyed this one so will recommend that you get it for a rainy day when you need an easy book or to get you out of a slump.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Dream Teams Book Box Club Unboxing

Posted on April 5, 2019

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Dream Teams is a great theme for a book box! I was all on board with this one and I was pleased with it. Now let’s go around the unboxing, starting on the theme card, and going clockwise:

Dream Teams theme card.
Stolen Time, I haven’t heard of this one so unsure how it will pan out, but usually their books push me out of my comfort zone of reading.
A publisher’s promotional bookmark
Underneath, there’s a cushion cover inspired by The Raven Boys (I am not crazy fan but I do love this cushion cover, it is gorgeous and I am now using it on my sofa).
Parabatai Oath candle, it has glitter and smells delicious so good one.
Unashamedly Bookish keyring, this is perfect for me and I love it so much!
221B Bath Bar, I love Ascent products and this one doesn’t miss the mark (I discovered them thanks to a book box, can’t remember which one), it is divine and I am eager to use it.
Six of Crows print, I am not a Grisha fan but the print is delightful.
The invite to the Clubhouse meeting to discuss the book.

That’s all, I did like ti quite a bit and the only thing I wasn’t that keen into is the print, but I don’t really go crazy for prints anyway. The rest of the items will be well usede (and that keyring will get a lot of love).

Book Review, Books

Penguin Problems Review

Posted on April 3, 2019

Penguin Problems by Jory John and Lane Smith

A penguin levels with human readers about what penguin life is really like—and it isn’t all fun and games.

Have you ever considered running away to Antarctica? Of course you have! Because it’s a land free of worries and responsibilities! All of your problems will surely be blown away by the icy winds of that lawless paradise! . . . Won’t they?

Think again, my friend. This penguin has come to tell you that his life down there is no more a picnic than yours is here. For starters, it is FREEZING. Also, penguins have a ton of natural predators. Plus, can you imagine trying to find your mom in a big ol’ crowd of identical penguins? No, thank you.

Yes, it seems there is no escaping the drudgery of your daily grind, whatever it might be. Or perhaps we’ve just learned that grumps are everywhere. . . .

Rating:

The cover caught my eye while I was looking for something to read, and I bought it. It is a cute easy read, about how things can go wrong and how penguins have so many problems, but it is also about how wonderful life and the world are too.

The illustrations are “simple” but at the same quite detailed and extremely cute. I kept feeling my heart melt with each new problem the penguin talked about. One of my favourite’s is that penguin can’t fly. Each page made me think a little about penguins and life.

It was also a good balm for my aching head (big headache) as it was easy to read, and relatively short. I think it’d be a fun one to read out loud with a little one. But it is also a nice gift to try to cheer an adult up. I already have someone in mind to receive this lovely book.

There’s not a lot more to say except that a penguin has a lot of problems, but also a lot of good things around. Life is interesting and full of good things if we look for them.

Overall, it is super cute and it is both for a child, or a grumpy, or sad adult.

Book Review, Books

The Place Between Breaths Review

Posted on April 1, 2019

The Place Between Breaths by An Na

From master storyteller and Printz Award–winning author An Na comes a dark, intensely moving story of a girl desperately determined to find a cure for the illness that swept her mother away, and could possibly destroy her own life as well.

Sixteen-year-old Grace is in a race against time—and in a race for her life—even if she doesn’t realize it yet…

She is smart, responsible, and contending with more than what most teens ever should. Her mother struggled with schizophrenia for years until, one day, she simply disappeared—fleeing in fear that she was going to hurt those she cared about most. Ever since, Grace’s father has worked as a recruiter at one of the leading labs dedicated to studying the disease, trying to lure the world’s top scientists to the faculty to find a cure, hoping against hope it can happen in time to help his wife if she is ever found. But this makes him distant. Consumed.

Grace, in turn, does her part, interning at the lab in the gene sequencing department daring to believe that one day they might make a breakthrough…and one day they do. Grace stumbles upon a string of code that could be the key. But something inside of Grace has started to unravel. Could her discovery just be a cruel side effect of the disease that might be taking hold of her? And can she even tell the difference?

Unflinchingly brave, An Na has created a mesmerizing story with twists and turns that reveal jaw-dropping insights into the mind of someone struggling with schizophrenia.

Rating:

This little book packs a punch. However, there’s a few things to consider before you read it. It is a book about mental health and schizophrenia. It is not a fluffy cuddly book. This one bites, and confuses.

The second thing is that the author has South Korean origins. Meaning that the Eastern (because “not Western sounds meh”) influences are heavy in the writing style of the book. Think Murakami, Yoshimoto, etc, who have a particular style of wiriting that isn’t what most Western authors do.

And why do I say both things before I even review the book? Because if you’re expecting a perfectly “coherent” fluffy book, this book is not it and it definitely isn’t a Western view of the world even if it is set in the US.

The author writes this book in seasons, in cycles. The book does its best to show you how schizophrenia entangles you and all the “ripples” it has. Your main character is Grace King who believes in logic and is fighting against her genes, while trying to work and help find a cure or something for schizophrenia. The story shifts between “season” chapters, that show slightly different things but they do make a cohesive whole. (I don’t want to spoil the book too much).

There are a lot of twists and intriguing bits in the story where at first you aren’t sure but as the story progresses you begin to realise how much Grace is fighting and what “enemy” she’s fighting.

In my opinion it was a very clever book with the way it sets thing and how it leaves you guessing. You need to be in the right midnset for it though, and it is worth (only after reading it) to go check Goodreads reviews, the author explains her purpose in writing it the way she did and a little better what is and isn’t in a reply to a reviewer.

Book Review, Books

The Burning Review

Posted on March 28, 2019

The Burning by Laura Bates

A rumour is like a fire. You might think you’ve extinguished it but one creeping, red tendril, one single wisp of smoke is enough to let it leap back into life again. Especially if someone is watching, waiting to fan the flames …

New school.
Tick.
New town.
Tick.
New surname.
Tick.
Social media profiles?
Erased.

There’s nothing to trace Anna back to her old life. Nothing to link her to the ‘incident’.

At least that’s what she thinks … until the whispers start up again. As time begins to run out on her secrets, Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to the tale of Maggie, a local girl accused of witchcraft centuries earlier. A girl whose story has terrifying parallels to Anna’s own…

Rating:

This book sounded like the kind of grippy gritty books I have recently been into, so I grabbed it. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (not to say it really wasn’t at all).

I expected the thing that Anna is trying to forget to be something else, so when it finally surfaces I was more like “oh, it’s that? meh” rather than “oh wow!”. Won’t spoil what it is, but this book certainly touches on topics like abortion, torture, abuse, bullying and the kind.

The witchy part was my favourite of it all. When they move to the new house Anna notices some odd marks scratched into the beams of the house and things like that, and turns out they’re witches marks, to try to disuade the spirit of the witch to come back and haunt the people that bought the house.

All the story of the “witch” was quite interesting, and it was intense. I was so angry for her, and I really liked that Thomas had an opinion and the part he “played” in it (yes, I wish it was different, but hey, this was way far back in time).

Another thing I really enjoyed was the friendships developed here. Partly it touches on how friends can turn on you and fall to peer pressure, which is something I had happen a lot during high school when I used to be bullied. My “best friend” would bully me in public then outside of school treat me completely different. Go figure! Regardless, it is interesting to see how each of the old and new friendships Anna slowly biulds develop, and that they are unique, most of the characters involved didn’t feel bland which was lovely because they were part of Anna’s world and not just plot props. Kudos for that.

The topic and the thing Anna deals with is important, I just imagined something else and it then fell under my expectations, but it hooked me so I read it before dinner the other day.

I guess you’d say my overall rating comes from having different expectations (my fault a little, part the blurbs fault) but it was an interesting book that I enjoyed reading.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Murder and Mayhem Owlcrate Unboxing

Posted on March 26, 2019

I just noticed there’s a very murdery vibe in colour choice of the box and I like it. Let’s check the items in it starting from the book and going clockwise:

Four Dead Queens. I already had this book in my list, ages ago, so it was easy to say yes to this box instead of Skip. I have to say I do prefer the normal cover rather than this one being red, I think the blue gives it a more “Cold” sombre effect that matches it better, but it’s still gorgeous.
Underneath there’s a drawsting backpack with a lot of murdery vibes going on. I don’t really do drawstring backpacks, but I love the idea of it and this one is quite nice quality.
The collectible pin which is gorgeous! It is the quadrants of the Four Dead Queens.
Three Dark Crowns sticker, which is gorgoeus and now I don’t know where to stick it!
A woodmark (I am still not super keen on them, they make me think it’ll break or something easily. ) and this one was very “meh” for me, even if the wolf is gorgeous.
My favourite item! A ceramic travel mug (I have a soft spot for travel mugs) inspired by Neverngiht, which is just amazing.
Sunai candle, there were apparently three scents to match the monsters types from This Savage Song.
Four Dead Queens pencil, from publisher I think. Not much of an opinion, it’s a pencil, it’ll be used…
And the theme card which also fits well the whole vibe of the box.

I liked the box in general but somehow wasn’t as wowed by it as I was by the one from last month. However, the mug makes me happy. I probably won’t keep the backpack but the rest of the things will be used (not the woodmark, please stop sending woodmarks! I do love Ink & Wonder designs but I am tired of woodmarks).

Book Review, Books

The Whisper Review

Posted on March 24, 2019

The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski

When a little girl received a curious book filled only with pictures, a whisper urges her to create the words she cannot see. As the pages turn, her imagination takes flight and she discovers that the greatest storyteller of all might come from within.

A celebration of reading and the power of the imagination, Pamela Zagarenski’s debut as an author reminds us that we each bring something different to the same book.

Rating:

This was totally a cover buy (most of my illustrated children’s books usually are cover buys), a girl with a cute red eared hoodie and a fox and a huge book, of course, I don’t care what it is about I need it.

Good thing it is actually a nice sweet book. And it is mostly about letting your imagination run and have some fun, but also to enjoy books, and how books and words can be “not boring” because you can imagine, and you can create. All the stories, ideas, and you can even change stories in your head with a pinch of imagination.

The author is also the illustrator and you can see just how much love and care there was into making this book match in words and drawings (not saying other books don’t, just that you can see it very well in this one).

The amount of foxes and gorgeous ideas was quite good, and there is a lot to encourage reading.

I know, short review, but it is a short book however the illustrations do make you pause and make them match the words, and try to find what else you can see in it.