Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
From the same author as The Tea Dragon Society, we have The Moth Keeper, so I know I like the art style and it was partly one of the reasons I chose this book. But the story itself was worth the read too.
In this book we follow Anya, who is training to be a Moth Keeper, a slightly lonely but crucial responsibility and a great honour. It is lonely because they are the protectors of lunar moths that allow a special flower to bloom once a year, which is needed for the village to thrive. This does mean you end up basically living at night and seeing mostly nights and very little sunshine and very few of your people.
Anya wants to prove her worth and take over the post, but it feels like a heavy cost to have to do less with friends. Then of course, Anya notices something that could cause harm to the moths and somehow breaks tradition to try to move forward.
The story is very sweet and gentle, it has an intricate nightly world initially, based around the moths and our little village, it is full of a fantastical and yet simple way of life. It is also about growing up, about making choices and pondering what thebeaten path brings, or if the choices you make, once you actually go through are exactly what you wanted. What if you want it, but also want to be able to do more, to engage in with your community?
Very sweet, lush and hopeful, worth a read for the lovely dreamy art, and for a sweet story.
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.
If you are new here, let me start by saying that Tasha Suri is one of my absolute favourite authors, and therefore this book has been an anticipated read since I knew of it (back when Tasha was obsessed with The Green Knight film and all those posts of medieval books), so of course I asked Orbit for a review copy, I probably begged. And they kindly let my soul be happy and have it. This review is therefore fully about my love of Tasha’s writing and having a review copy doesn’t change my opinion of it (or make me rate it higher, go check all my reviews of her books from the past).
The Isle in the Silver Sea is a standalone fantasy book (I am surprised since Tasha likes trilogies and epic stories), which is still incredibly epic. It is like being wrapped in a medieval fairy tale, being transported to an old London and then to a set for Merlin or The Green Knight.
The story follows Simran and Vina, who are incarnates, reincarnations of characters from tales, that are destined to re-enact and live their tale to provide life to Britain. Fated to fall in love and then doom each other, over and over, through lifetimes.
But neither of them is ready to simply follow their tale, and even less to doom each other when they realise that an assassin is targeting tales and their incarnates, and they may be next. And so they need to find a way to survive, and ponder if fate can be changed, if tales can be rewritten.
As always, the cast of characters is a whole thing here, and we find a rich world for them to exist in, starting with our main tale for this story, “The Knight and the Witch”, which is a tale of doomed love. But as you read through the chapters (divided between the points of view of Simran and Vina), each one has a snippet of some writing that is related to the tales, so you get more of the world building (and honestly, I think on a second read they would be even more significant).
Tasha deftly builds a Britain and London that is rich in history and yet also completely different, wrapped in tales and lore. And yet, as you read, as you come closer to the end, the currents of what motivates some people here and makes them think they’re British or “English”, also run a current through the story here, parallels and yet, hope lives eternal.
This was my commute book, and oh how I regretted that, because I did not want to stop reading. I dreamt of Vina and Simran, of their world, their tale, their story. I yearned for them, fought with them, dreamt with them. This is a tale that is very much alive and absolutely worth reading. Tasha gets better with each new book, each new story is a craft honed even further.
I cried at it, I hoped, and desperately wanted things to be, for their tale to make it, for life to have a chance. And in the end, I absolutely loved it. I was speechless; I had no more to say or do because this book was perfect.
So all I can ask, is that you give this exquisite tale a chance to wrap itself around you.
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.
Illumicrate is a book subscription box that usually features fantasy and sci-fi, and curates a wide range of books, including both young adult and adult fiction. It usually contains a new release and several bookish goodies.
I have mixed feelings about Dark Academia but let’s go into this with open eyes, starting bottom left and going clockwise:
The Dark Academia Bookcase jigsaw puzzle. I love when they send jigsaws, because they’re very fun and I find it a nice activity to do, so this is already a win.
A task journal (interesting concept) with a gorgeous cover.
Reading prompt cards, not a concept for me particularly since I am a mood reader and being prompted or forced to choose something does not work, but I did like the idea behind it. It has genre suggestions but also things like “a book with dragons” and so forth, which is quite fun.
A satisfying closure glasses case, which I don’t use simply because I don’t use a glasses case for my all the time on glass except when I sleep.
The monthly leaflet as usual.
And the featured book which was A Dark and Drowning Tide, which is on my list to read and I haven’t got to it annoyingly. But still looking forward to it.
Overall a very dreamy box, which had some very good items and some less useful for me but still creative and useful for others. Visually it’s one of my favourites of the year and the book was also a big favourite.
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
I love Annalise Jensen’s art, and had already kickstarted and enjoyed her previous fairy anthology art book, so backing this one was going to happen.
This is an anthology that compiles art, comics, and short stories about fairies, transformation, and queer desire. It does have a dark theme overall, and I think it is a wonderful little collection of various artists in it (You can read the Kickstarter project here).
What can I say about it? I liked the previous one more, but this one had gorgeous artwork, some dark and creepy stories, some really good comics (some were not up to my taste or really my topics) and it is a great quality book.
It just makes me feel like I need to get back to creating art after going through this lovely anthology and which gives you art, comics, and one fo my favourite things was that the short stories had artwork or headers or side graphics which made it a stunning piece reminding me of old illustrated books. IT is a beautiful piece of art and very magical.
Theme/Month: Look What You Made Me Do, August 2024
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.
Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release and several bookish goodies.
August box definitely had a distinct colour vibe going on here. So let’s go from the featured book and clockwise:
Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright which I still have to read, I just haven’t felt particularly compelled to, and so I don’t know when I will get to it.
A weekly pill box inspired by Ruthless Remedy. I like this one but I had one in use already so haven’t used it yet.
Silver Under Nightfall inspired snack bowls. I love these and they are perfect for snack sizing. I generally love almost everything that is dishware they bring out.
Underneath it we have a black and a red packing cube, which I gifted out as I didn’t need any but these were gorgeous.
Then we have the usual monthly leaflet of contents
And finally a replica dagger from The Serpent and the Wings of Night which I didn’t read so no clue. I generally don’t keep these since they’re too heavy to use as hair pins (if they were good as hairsticks, then I’d be all over them, but they’re much too heavy) and I don’t have much reason to keep them otherwise.
Overall, it was definitely a box in theme but I didn’t keep much from it, even if the snack bowls were absolute winners (they are still a winner). Part of me wishes the collectible was more useful but I get the nice unique factor here for the replicas.
Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic by Sangu Mandanna. Illustrated by Pablo Ballesteros
Rating:
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
I think I found this while searching for Sangu Mandanna’s new book which I couldn’t remember the title exactly, and then saw there was a cute graphic novel, and had to get it!
Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic does not disappoint. Jupiter has always dreamed of joining one of the Schools of Magic, so when she tries all the tests for all seven schools, feels like she has failed them all and then gets a visitor to say she has made it is not the School of Earth Magic, she does not know what to do.
She decides to go anyway, despite knowing that the School of Earth Magic is looked down by the rest of the students, doesn’t seem to involve any “cool” magic spells and her main tutor and teacher is too serious and demanding. She still sticks it out and somehow starts carving a place for herself in the school, but then an old enemy of the school and magic in general returns, testing Jupiter and her own magic.
IT is a lovely artwork and the story was adorable. I liked the view of the different schools which is a different approach to subjects or houses and here it is more about affinities, including ghosts (which if you are not a ghost, you can’t join). And Jupiter finding her place and figuring things out was also nice, and the way she almost gives up but then finds a way to find her own voice and magic was quite nice too.
Can recommend as a quick sweet read full of magic.
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.
Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release, a pin and several bookish goodies.
Sometimes the items go beyond my backdrop and then you get a weird photograph. I probably need to better my picture taking skills. But in the meantime, starting from the leaflet on the left and going clockwise:
Magical Menagerie leaflet
Hidden Ones magnetic critter bookmarks (adorable as always). I don’t use magnetic bookmarks a lot because I find after clipping and unclipping them they break and wear down too much and too quickly.
Birds of a Feather desk mat. I love desk mats and this one is gorgeous, so it has been used (though it is not the one currently in use).
Mythical Creature reading journal. super gorgeous both inside and out. I just wished it was a plan sketching notebook rather than a reading journal. I don’t really journal my reading.
The featured book, which was The Phoenix Keeper, is still to be read (sometimes I read the book, sometimes it takes me a while to get to it).
A lipstick holder, which was interesting because I have never even thought about using a lipstick holder, but it was cool even if currently unused.
The items were very much in the theme, but sadly about half of them aren’t in use or haven’t been used which is a bit sad for me, but I still like them and think they are lovely items, just not as useful for me overall. I think the biggest miss is the reading journal, because we keep being sent reading journals and I don’t need more of those, I want notebooks that have epic nice paper to sketch on instead.
For some chaotic reason (I think health and house move) I had not posted my review for this entry into one of my favourite middle grade series!
Diary of an Accidental Witch follows Bea who moves into a new village with her dad who studies the weather, and the weather here is all funky, but it may have to do with the magical school nearby rather than just natural phenomenon.
Bea ends up going to witch school and turns out she is a witch, so we follow her shenanigans through a series of books (I have reviewed all of them and I love them so much!). Magic Ever After is what looks to be the last of the series. This is the one bad thing of this book, that it is the last so far and I am heartbroken!
Bea’s ready for magical plans over the school holidays and then she realises her dad is obsessed with trying to do magic, and Taffy is being too serious and thinking hard. So Bea is here to help her Dad and Taffy with their not so secret wedding. She then has extra secrets to keep, magic to teach, and a party to plan full of magic, chaos happens, but also, it is a very sweet book.
I enjoyed the relationships showing up and the friendship and everyone pulling up to help make this memorable, including Bea still panicking about things and her dad’s chaos happening, but in the end the wedding is so cute and very much in line with the chaos of the family.
Very cute, a nice “ending” for the series and with lots of potential for picking back up if they ever do!
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.
Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release, a pin and several bookish goodies.
I am still super far behind on this, but one day I will catch up, I promise. This is still really the only book box I buy and I enjoy it enough to keep it going so far. Apparently for about ten years. How does time by so fast?
Anyway, let’s dig into the contents of this one:
At the top we have two mechanical pencils (I have not used these, mostly because I am particular on the mechanical pencil I use for drawing, and otherwise I don’t really use them) inspired by Empress of Salt and Fortune.
Bandits of Liagnshan enamel pin inspired by The Water Outlwas. I like the pin, it has been added to the ever growing collection.
The monthly leaflet with the photo challenge and contents description. I used to keep these but have been recycling nowadays.
A metal bookmark inspired by The Bone Shard Daughter (I haven’t read that one yet), which is super cool.
The main book, which was Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen and I have yet to read it. It somehow didn’t become a priority amongst the choices I have made to keep around in my super minimal bookcase.
And finally a print album inspired by Girls of Paper and Fire (that was a good series). I like these albums because I actually use them for prints and they are awesome for keeping them tidy and I can browse them nicely.
Overall, it was super on theme and very well tied together for pictures and showing off all the elements. Most of the items were good and useful (the mechanical pencils would’ve been in use if I was taking more notes and going places). So can’t complain on this box, I like it when they items all look good together and seem to stick incredibly well with the theme and each other and that was a win here for sure.
Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon
Rating:
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
I am not huge on superhero type of comics and stories, but Zatanna always seems to win me over. I read another story a while back, Zatanna and the House of Secrets, and since then I keep trying to find more of her.
In comparison to House of Secrets this is an older teenager almost adult Zatanna, and it still has touches on her identity and who she is. There is as always a lot fo magic and weirdness and that carnival festival. I think those two things, the magician and magic act feels that come from Zatanna being the child of famous magicians, and the carnival vibes definitely are big reasons for my love fo her stories.
My dad used to always do magic and even had a few years when he did magic at events. I learned a bunch of tricks and how to escape two types of cuffs for some of the tricks, and so I can think of maigicnas with joy, even if it is all in tricks.
This jewel of Gravesend is a bit darker and more mystical, which questions Zatanna’s parents, her history and what she is willing to sacrifice to save what she loves, and at the same time she isn’t sure she wants anything to do with magic, but feels pressured into it, there is also her attempting to become her own person and be independent and her love for the carnival and her odd life, and the artwork here was perfectly suited to the story.
It is definitely a favourite story of magic, mystery and intrigue and with Zatanna at the front of it. So can definitely recommend it as another good read to add to the collection.
