Books – Page 55 – The Constellation of Moon

Black Curtain Call Review

Posted on August 24, 2018

Black Curtain Call by Nikki Welton

When 17-year-old Ivy is wrongly accused of a crime during a live performance in a theater she is desperately trying to save from closing, she must run for her life.

With the help of the director, who owns an ancient key to the theater vaults, Ivy, her best friend, Cole, and her sister, together open a passage to medieval Scotland, where the real knight Macbeth and King Duncan are at the height of their powers. But the escape route comes at an unexpected price: Ivy and her friends must play the roles of their lives, impersonating their real past selves. Unless they learn to trust each other more than the malicious whispers of three prophesying witches, the four of them might be lost forever in the world of royal intrigues and murder. This time Ivy must prevent the crime from happening and capture the culprit, or her own fate will change irrevocably.

If she can uncover the reason why the key thrust her into such a hostile world, Ivy might influence her future by altering the past to save the theater and find her way back home.

Rating:

Disclaimer: I was provided this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

A second disclaimer, I am not a big fan of Shakespeare retellings. But this is probably my favourite one.

As I finished this, my thoughts all end up in one. I wish Ivy had enjoyed the ride more. She’s trying so hard to go back to the theater that it felt like she wasn’t living in the moment. (And I mean, if you’re transported to the past and one of your past selves, why not figure things out and enjoy it?).

The others seem to get into character better. Does that mean Ivy maybe isn’t suited for theater? Who knows? I did ponder on this more than I probably should, but if she can’t act in the past, who says she can in the present?

It was an interesting “retelling” of Macbeth, the idea was way better than the original. However, Ivy’s attitude kept getting in the way of enjoying it as much as I think I would. (Also, why is she friends with Cole? I would’ve ditched him years ago).

If Shakespeare is your thing, you’ll enjoy this book.

Moon recommends

If you like retellings, go read Black Curtain Call. Or you can give The Queens of Innis Lear a go.

Book Review

Heretics Anonymous Review

Posted on August 20, 2018

Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry

Michael is an atheist. So as he walks through the doors at St. Clare’s—a strict Catholic school—sporting a plaid tie, things can’t get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow nonbeliever at that. Only this girl, Lucy, is not just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.

But Lucy introduces Michael to other St. Clare’s outcasts, and he officially joins Heretics Anonymous, where he can be an atheist, Lucy can be an outspoken feminist, Avi can be Jewish and gay, Max can wear whatever he wants, and Eden can practice paganism. After an incident in theology class, Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school’s hypocrisies. When Michael takes one mission too far—putting the other Heretics at risk—he must decide whether to fight for his own freedom, or rely on faith, whatever that means, in God, his friends, or himself.

Rating:

I loved this book much more than I thought I would. It made me laugh a lot (it definitely touches on the whole divine comedy), and it also made me think a lot (in a good way).

It has the classic “high school” elements, but it also has some interesting family dynamics and cultural differences and that made it so much better. First off there is Michael, who is struggling with moving around because of his father’s job. And it touched me because I have moved around a lot too (not because of my dad all the time but still). And the relationsips between his family were interesting.

Then you get the rest of the group, with Lucy trying so hard for her family and for herself. I really enjoyed her passion and her belief. She believed and it was okay, the book doesn’t tell you “hey, this character’s way is better”, instead it shows you a lot of different ways to view faith (which is something not many YA or even fiction books touch) but Heretics Anonymous does.

Each of the character adds to this book a little bit more and it was so nice to read it.

Moon recommends

I would suggest preordering/buying Heretics Anonymous, regardless of your beliefs. I don’t have many other books that touch on faith as this one does, so it is a tricky one to recommend other books…

Book Review

Onyx & Ivory Review

Posted on August 18, 2018

Onyx & Ivory by Mindee Arnett

They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.

The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.

Rating:

Buddy read again, and yes that is an exclusive edition from LitJoy that has extra artwork and is signed.

One of the things that puzzles me about the book is the title. Onyx & Ivory, black and white. But nothing in this book is black and/or white. I mean of course there are things that are one colour or the other, but the book is more about all the nuances of things than about it being black or white.

Nevermind, that is me musing over semantics and choice of words.

I enjoyed this book, I started feeling for Pip (which was a heartbreaking start), found Signe to be the right kind of fun friend to have (even if she is herself and well, sometimes that is a bit too much).

The way Kate (and Corwin too) grows through the story was one fo my favourite things. As she is trying to figure out what she wants out of life and trying to shake off the whole “Traitor Kate”.

Another thing I really liked was how not everything happens in one day or just in a couple of days. But rather it feels more natural to have a longer time span for events to happen which for once didn’t make me think “instantaneous” but rather go “oh yeah, makes sense”.

And of course I now need the next book because that ending left me wanting to just plunge into the next book.

Moon recommends

Reading Onyx and Ivory, and something slightly similar would be Heart of Thorns (the same feeling but not the same story and each is unique).

Books, Subscription Boxes

Witchcraft Book Box Club Unboxing

Posted on August 14, 2018

A witchy magical box for their first special box (as in the box is now Book Box Colour and printed rather than a sticker on a brown box and it is so gorgeous!). Starting with the book and going clockwise:

The Lost Witch by Melvin Burgess, I was going to preorder but guessed it’d be in this box. Then knew he was at YALC so I actually have two copies, one dedicated and one from the box.
A bookmark to match the book.
Promotional postcards.
A chocolate frog for all your witchcraft (it was very yummy!)
Invitation to the Clubhouse
Promotional bookmark for This Cruel Design (This Mortal Coil was awesome).
Portable Magic Book Pouch by Tea Cake Art. The design is gorgeous (though I admit I thought it was a sandwich carrier for lunch but love it either way).
A Spell for Wildflowers by Wildflower Favours. I thought this was such a cute thing to get!
Hubble Bubble Bath Potion by Midsummer Child. A great spell for a weary day!
Luna Lovegood candle by Madame Fiction. It smells delicious.
And a pair of super cute witchy earrings by Fairy Fountain Gifts.

I can’t wait for the next box and to read the book and I just really loved the box 🙂

Book Review

Heart of Thorns Review

Posted on August 12, 2018

Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton

In the ancient river kingdom, touch is a battlefield, bodies the instruments of war. Seventeen-year-old Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood.

Not women. Demons. The same demons who killed her mother without a single scratch.

But when Mia’s father suddenly announces her marriage to the prince, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Only after the wedding goes disastrously wrong does she discover she has dark, forbidden magic—the very magic she has sworn to destroy.

Rating:

I buddy read this book and of course I ended up pulling a “Moon” (this means I stuck to the buddy read for a few days and then finished the book instead of stopping at the designated place). However, it has been one of our most positive buddy reads, and I was enjoying this book a lot.

One of my favourite things is that some of the cliche roles are reversed, and how Mia starts managing/understanding feelings. Her growth and her naivity were interesting.

Also, without spoiling, that ending left me wanting so much more and also there were a lot of twists that were unexpected. (How can you review this and explain how much they surprised you when you want to skip spoilers?!)

Moon recommends

Why not give this book a try? I’d also like to recommend The Last Namsara, or The Hero and The Crown, all of them with great “heroines” that learn a lot about themselves and magic through this (sadly Heart of Thorns doesn’t have dragons, which the other two do).

Books, Subscription Boxes

The Power Within Fairyloot Unboxing

Posted on August 10, 2018

A mixed box of feelings for me. Some items were very good but the rest were not enough. Let’s do the unboxing starting from the book and going clockwise:

Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton. It has red sprayed edges (beautiful) and expect a review soon (like in two days).
Sweet Black Waves postcard.
Author letter/character art print.
Fairyscope hidden underneath.
Children of Blood and Bone print (one of my favourite things from this box).
Theme card.
Witchy broomstick with a quote referencing Quidditch.
Colour changing mug. Sadly it is just a quote in colours, it isn’t a wonderful picture or some fun effect, which is a shame as Ink & Wonder designs are usually delightful and lovely.
Wrongly printed tea towel (they are sending one that isn’t reversed, no one thoguht to check this before printing sadly).
A room spray from Geeky Clean.

Book Review

A Sky Painted Gold Review

Posted on August 6, 2018

A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood

Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, sixteen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer – a handsome, dashing brother and sister – Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams.

But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions… And is there something darker lurking at the heart of the Cardew family?

A gorgeously dreamy coming-of-age romance set against a stunning Gatsby-esque backdrop, this is perfect for fans of I Capture the Castle and Eva Ibbotson.

Rating:

Reader, I have a confession to make.

I do not like The Great Gatsby.

And with that preamble, let me tell you that despite being labelled as a The Great Gatsby for teenagers/young adults, this book is not to be compared with Gatsby. Why? Because it is SO much better.

There is a lot of focus on family, familiar love, specially between siblings, and each relationship is written with care. It shows and it is part of what shines in this book. The characters are endearing even if they aren’t always good.

And as much as there is romance in the book, it isn’t the only thing. The story flows, and it makes you swing and dance with it, it takes you on a journey that you don’t want to stop. And when you reach the end you want to cry of joy.

Moon recommends

Read this book, regardless of your love/hate/neutral for The Great Gatsby. I also recommend trying some of Eva Ibbotson’s books. They’re the same kind of lovely.

Book Review

Pretty Bad Liars?

Posted on August 4, 2018

All of this is true by Lygia Day Peñaflor

Miri, Penny and Soleil have been friends since seventh grade, attending the same classes at the same private school, looking at the same boys, arranging the same hyped parties, and most important of all, sharing the love for the novel Undertow, and worshipping its author. One day the girls, together with their new friend Jonah, goes to an Undertow-signing. The author, Fatima Ro, is everything they hoped she would be, and as if that wasn’t enough, she want’s the little high school gang to become “her new people”. Hanging out at Fatima’s soon becomes the new normal, but all relationships isn’t what they first seems to be, and conflicts, lies, and hidden agendas are boiling right under the surface. It all comes down to the question: Who can you really trust to keep your secrets?

Rating 🐖🐖🐖

This is exactly the kind of page turning mystery story that I do l.o.v.e. It’s similar to Pretty Little Liars and a lot of other YA-books, with the plot building up around a well-kept secret that you spend the time reading to try to figure out. In All of this is true, this premise also shines through in how the book is disposed and written. It consists exclusively of TV-interviews with the girls, excerpts from Fatima Ro’s new book, email-conversations, and news paper articles about the unraveling scandal that’s at the center of the story.

I strongly liked this disposition, as it added to the jigsaw format of the plot itself. What I didn’t like was that the book felt a bit thin. Not in size or number of pages, but plot wise. After all, the “big secret” in this one was quite easy to figure out, and once it was exposed, there wasn’t much more to the story.

This book could easily have been a five pigs-read for me, if there had been just a liiiittle more dept; to the characters, and to the events that took place, i.e. in terms of psychological explanations or theories. ‘Cause at the end of this books, all my “how’s” were answered, but all my “why’s” where just left there hanging. And that’s really like ripping out the last chapter of a really good thriller, isn’t it?

Dr. Bea approves

If you want more mysteries, I recommend you to read One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus. (Moral wise I had some troubles with that one, to be honest, but oh was it an exciting five pig-read.)

Book Review

I Have Lost My Way Review

Posted on August 2, 2018

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

A powerful display of empathy and friendship from the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of If I Stay. Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from home to find the boy that he loves, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City after a family tragedy leaves him isolated on the outskirts of Washington state. After the three of them collide in Central Park, they slowly reveal the parts of their past that they haven’t been able to confront, and together, they find their way back to who they’re supposed to be. Told over the course of a single day from three different perspectives, Gayle Forman’s newest novel about the power of friendship and being true to who you are is filled with the elegant prose that her fans have come to know and love.

Rating:

Gayle’s books shine for a few things, and this one doesn’t loose those marvelous pros. Which ones? One, it is an easy read. The writing is easy to read, it doesn’t require you to concentrate like crazy because you may miss something, and it is just quick and easy and enjoyable.

Another one is her view of humanity and gaining introspectives on yourself through watching, interacting and being with others. This particular book shines a lot on that front. Mind you, I say yourself, but it is meant to be the fact that it happens as the characters exist and move along the story, but it affects you too as you go alongside them.

There is usually music involved in one way or another in the narrative which I kind of like because it makes it “normal”, and it makes it a part of everything.

All in all, a nice lovely book about finding your way, and remembering why you are doing things. (It is less punch-y than some of her other books but that doesn’t take away from this one).

Moon recommends

I am not big on contemporary books, but I can recommend I Have Lost My Way, or if you want to try more of her books you can start the If I Stay “series”.

Book Review

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe Review

Posted on July 31, 2018

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met, never even spoken to – someone who is light years away?

Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . .

Rating:

Romy is very very lonely, and it is interesting to try to figure out exactly why she ended up being so alone (that is one part of the story in itself). Which as much as sometimes I want to be left alone I do not want it that bad.

Then she starts receiving messages from someone called J in the new ship and she starts to get slightly confused by it. But there are also some other messages coming to her and she has to figure things out.

I have to admit I quickly knew or guessed the “twist” but it was still good and very well done. Romy was awesome and it showed well her lack of company and just how lonely she was and the way hope changes her at times. The writing flows as you read so you want to keep reading, trying to find out what exactly is going to happen and when.

Moon recommends

Of course, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. If you like space themed books, then Elizabeth Moon’s are a good choice, or you can try Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers books.